Rachel Smolkin

Rachel Smolkin is executive editor of CNN Politics, spearheading the network’s coverage of politics and Washington in the digital space. She oversees digital storytelling about the White House, Congress, Supreme Court and national security. Smolkin’s team also explores politics beyond the Beltway, including Donald Trump’s America and the opposition movement on the left.

 

She has created and assembled a nearly 50-person team by drawing on talent from 20 of the nation’s top news organizations, including Politico, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Yahoo, Bloomberg and the Los Angeles Times.

 

CNN Politics works closely with the entire Washington bureau to harness reporting from the network’s anchors, reporters, producers and programs to ensure CNN is a powerful multi-platform destination for Washington and politics news. After only six months at CNN, Smolkin took CNNPolitics.com to the No. 1-ranked position for online political news, where it remains today.

 

Smolkin oversaw the network’s digital coverage during the 2016 campaign and the editorial components of CNN Politics’ first book: Unprecedented: The Election that Changed Everything.

 

Smolkin joined CNN from Politico, where she served as managing editor of news. At Politico, she oversaw news and enterprise coverage that led the website, as well as the daily news report. Smolkin also served as deputy managing editor and White House editor. She also worked at USA Today, where she supervised the White House and legal affairs teams, and served as managing editor of American Journalism Review.

 

She lives in Arlington, Va., with her husband and two children.

 

Follow Rachel on Twitter @RachelSmolkin.