Leigh Ann Caldwell
Leigh Ann Caldwell follows the internal battles and dealmaking in Washington’s power centers, using deep sourcing on Capitol Hill to show how political decisions are made and who is driving them. She is chief Washington correspondent at Puck and a veteran political reporter whose work centers on Congress, national politics, and the individuals wielding power inside those systems. Her coverage is distinguished by leadership and strategy scoops and by clear, concise explanations of what is happening behind closed doors.
Capitol Hill and Congressional Power
Caldwell’s core beat is Congress and the shifting balance of power inside the House and Senate. She has spent years tracking leadership fights, budget showdowns, government shutdowns, and Supreme Court confirmations, with a particular focus on how those high‑stakes episodes unfold in real time on Capitol Hill. Her reporting has included detailed coverage of both impeachment trials of Donald Trump, the January 6 attack and its aftermath, and successive efforts by Senate Republicans to reshape health policy, giving readers a granular view of the tactics and alliances at work. She has also led coverage of sexual harassment scandals inside Congress, helping expose how internal norms and structures respond when members and staff face misconduct claims. At Puck, that experience translates into stories that trace the fortunes of current congressional leaders, including efforts to depose speakers and manage scandal‑plagued members while preserving fragile majorities.
National Politics and Elections
Beyond daily congressional maneuvering, Caldwell covers national politics and campaigns, following how party strategies play out across election cycles. She has reported on every presidential and midterm election since 2008, chronicling candidate trajectories, intra‑party divisions, and the mechanics of campaign operations. Her work has examined Donald Trump’s political rise and the behavior of his base, including how supporters respond to scandal stories and whether those narratives change voter attitudes over time. In broadcast and print, she often focuses on what motivates elected officials and operatives - fundraising pressures, ideological currents, and personal ambition - and how those factors shape choices on issues ranging from judicial confirmations to major legislation.
Scoops, Newsletters, and Live Interviews
Caldwell has developed a newsletter‑driven reporting style that blends exclusive sourcing with straightforward analysis. At a previous outlet she co‑authored a flagship morning political newsletter that took readers inside Washington’s power centers, while also anchoring live interview programming with key decision‑makers. At Puck she contributes regularly to its flagship political private email, The Best & The Brightest, using her Hill reporting and relationships on both sides of the aisle to deliver timely scoops on leadership plots, pressure campaigns, and legislative strategy. She pairs that written work with a live event salon series featuring politicians and newsmakers, extending her reporting into moderated conversations that surface how insiders see unfolding events.
Across television, radio, and podcasts, she is frequently tapped to explain congressional dynamics, reinforcing a profile built on being deeply sourced and able to translate insider information quickly for broader audiences.
Scope at Puck
Within Puck, Caldwell anchors the masthead’s political coverage of what is “really happening” in Washington, connecting the White House, the Pentagon, Capitol Hill, K Street, and the campaign trail. Her primary focus “mostly on the Hill” keeps her close to leadership meetings, hallway confrontations, and whip counts, but she also follows how those developments intersect with the interests of major corporations and cultural institutions. In pieces that range from leadership showdowns to stories touching Amazon, tech figures like Sam Altman, and entertainment brands such as Netflix and Warner Bros., she traces how political power and corporate power interact, and how decisions in one sphere reverberate in the other.
The through‑line is an emphasis on motivations and consequences: who is pushing a move, what leverage they have, and what it means for legislation, elections, and the broader balance of power.
4 more politics journalists.
A.D. Quig
A.D. Quig follows money and power through Chicago and Cook County government, showing how political decisions, taxes and public spending affect residents and businesses. At the Chicago Tribune, she covers city and county politics, municipal finance, tax policy, budgets and the structures shaping mayoral and council authority. She joined the Tribune in 2022 after covering politics for Crain’s Chicago Business and The Daily Line. Her work examines council power, ethics rules, police leadership, tax incentives, public agencies and pandemic aid. She has reported on data center tax breaks, property tax errors, federal relief spending and the fiscal effects of major development proposals. Quig combines insider government reporting with public accountability journalism. She uses public records, data and budget documents, follows committees and staff negotiations, and explains complex decisions in plain language with precise numbers and a direct link to everyday consequences.
Adam Daly
Adam Daly covers politics for amNewYork with a focus on the inner workings of city and state government and the low-profile forums where power is exercised and negotiated. He reports on commissions and panels that shape how New York is governed, treating charter reform and government efficiency as central political terrain. His coverage of moves to replace an Adams-era charter commission with a new government efficiency panel foregrounds mandate, authority, and what “efficiency” means in practice for agencies and services. He tracks who gains and loses influence when one commission supplants another and which constituencies are being answered to. Daly explains dense procedural questions in clear, reader-facing terms, using specific institutional details and occasional wordplay to connect jargon-heavy reforms to public spending, service delivery, and mayoral power.
Adam Pack
Adam Pack covers Capitol Hill through power struggles, investigations and ideological fights, focusing on how Congress intersects with Donald Trump’s agenda. He is a politics writer on Fox News Digital’s Capitol Hill team, covering Congress, federal elections, legislative battles, election rules, war powers, primaries and intraparty fights. He previously wrote for the Daily Caller News Foundation. His reporting examines deadlines, vote counts, bill language, campaign spending, court rulings, oversight reports, culture clashes and emerging issues such as AI-backed political groups. He has covered FISA reauthorization, defense spending, the SAVE America Act, housing policy, redistricting, candidate absences, primary spending and disputes over sex, gender, religion and race-based caucuses. He reports primarily through news features and investigative-style pieces built around documents, committee reports, court records, unearthed video and specific legislative details. He often co-writes complex Capitol Hill stories and publishes “FIRST ON FOX” exclusives.
Adam Sullivan
Adam Sullivan is a veteran politics reporter for WCAX who connects elections and party disputes to everyday life. He covers statewide races, party primaries, federal representation, political rhetoric, extremism, and accountability across the Upper Valley and neighboring states. His reporting includes Becca Balint’s victory over Molly Gray in the Democratic U.S. House primary to replace Congressman Peter Welch. He also reports when political controversies affect public safety, political culture, towns, and institutions, including a New Hampshire Libertarian Party post endorsing violence against elected Democrats. Sullivan follows cultural stories with civic consequences, such as Noah Kahan’s appeal to fans to stop stealing a Strafford road sign linked to his music. He writes straight news centered on concrete events, official reactions, political context, community impact, and what comes next.