Ben Terris

Washington, D.C.

Feature reporter covering national politics

Education: Brandeis University, B.A. in American Studies

Latest from Ben Terris

Meet the ex-food writer advising Tommy Tuberville on national security

As a former football coach, the senator from Alabama is an improbable power player. But the story of how his top military adviser got here is even stranger.

May 30, 2023

A daring, dazed trip into the ‘hostage’ situation on Capitol Hill

A daring, dazed trip into the "hostage" situation on Capitol Hill.

May 25, 2023

The Washington gambler

Sean McElwee, a young Democratic insider with friends in high places, bet on himself in the post-Trump era. But that wasn’t all he was betting on.

April 30, 2023

Inside a sweaty D.C. media tradition: Getting the cool kids to sit with you at nerd prom

At the White House correspondents’ dinner, media organizations try hard to get famous (or even famous-ish) guests to sit at their tables

April 29, 2023

Everybody in Washington wants the Ukrainian ambassador at their party

Oksana Markarova is hitting the town like her country depends on it.

April 4, 2023

Pence says ‘history will hold Donald Trump accountable’ for Jan. 6

"Make no mistake about it, what happened that day was a disgrace," the former vice president said at Washington’s annual Gridiron dinner.

March 12, 2023

Senate candidate Ruben Gallego isn’t running from his trauma

The Democratic war veteran, who is challenging Sen. Kyrsten Sinema in Arizona, isn’t interested in hiding his post-traumatic stress from voters.

March 8, 2023

Kellyanne Conway and George Conway confirm they are divorcing

Kellyanne and George Conway's GOP power marriage drew intense fascination as he grew loudly critical of the Trump White House, where she worked.

March 4, 2023

This site bet big on political gambling. Regulators want it shut down.

Politics junkies have made and lost millions placing bets on what will happen next. But one major site is in the crosshairs of federal regulators.

January 24, 2023

Does the House even exist right now?

A chamber full of representatives-elect is failing to install Kevin McCarthy (or anyone else) as speaker, so they can’t be sworn in yet.

January 4, 2023