James VandeHei (born February 12, 1971) is an American journalist and businessman who is the co-founder and CEO of

Axios Axios commonly refers to: * Axios (river), a river that runs through Greece and North Macedonia * ''Axios'' (website), an American news and information website Axios may also refer to: Brands and enterprises * Axios, a brand of suspension produ ...

and the former executive editor and co-founder of ''

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...

''. Previously, he was a national political reporter at ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', where he worked as White House correspondent.

Early life and education

VandeHei was born in

Oshkosh, Wisconsin Oshkosh is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, of which it is the county seat. The city had a population of 66,816 in 2020, making it the ninth-largest city in Wisconsin. It is also adjacent to the Town of Oshkosh. History Oshkosh was ...

, and graduated from Lourdes High School in 1989. In 1995, he graduated from the

University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh (UW Oshkosh or UW Osh) is a public university in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System and offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs to nearly 14,000 students ea ...

with a double major in journalism and political science. As an undergraduate, he interned at ''The Brillion News'' in

Brillion, Wisconsin Brillion is a city in Calumet County, Wisconsin, Calumet County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 3,327 as of July 1, 2019. The city is located within the Brillion (town), Wisconsin, Town of Brillion, though it is politically inde ...

during the summer of 1993. He later interned in the office of Democratic Senator

Herb Kohl Herbert H. Kohl (born February 7, 1935) is an American businessman and politician. Alongside his brother and father, the Kohl family created the Kohl's department stores chain, of which Kohl went on to be president and CEO. Kohl also served as a ...

in 1994, which led to his decision to become a political journalist.

Career

After working as a sports reporter for the ''

Oshkosh Northwestern The ''Oshkosh Northwestern'' is a daily newspaper based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The ''Northwestern'' was owned by the Schwalm and Heaney families until 1998, when it was sold to Ogden Newspapers; Ogden traded the paper to Thomson Newspapers two ...

'', VandeHei moved to

Washington, D.C ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

. In 1995, began working for Inside Washington Publishers. In 1996, he was hired by "Inside the New Congress," a weekly newsletter that focuses on the House and Senate. In 1997, he began working as a reporter for ''

Roll Call ''Roll Call'' is a newspaper and website published in Washington, D.C., United States, when the United States Congress is in session, reporting news of legislative and political maneuverings on Capitol Hill, as well as political coverage of c ...

'', which covers

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill, in addition to being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington, D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues. It is one of the ...

. While at Roll Call, VandeHei broke the story of House Speaker-elect

Bob Livingston Robert Linlithgow Livingston Jr. (born April 30, 1943) is an American lobbyist and politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Louisiana from 1977 to 1999. A Republican, he was chosen as Newt Gingrich's successor as Speaker of the U.S. H ...

's affairs in 1998. He was the first to report in 1998 that Republicans were formally planning to impeach

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

. After a stint as a national political reporter for ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' in 2000, VandeHei joined ''

''. VandeHei's work has appeared in ''

Capital Style ''Capital Style'' magazine was a Washington, DC political lifestyle magazine in publication from October 1997 to May 2000. Its editor was Bill Thomas. ''Capital Style'' was launched by The Economist Group The Economist Group (legally The Econom ...

'' and ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hum ...

''. He has appeared as a

pundit A pundit is a person who offers mass media opinion or commentary on a particular subject area (most typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport). Origins The term originates from the Sanskrit term ('' '' ), meaning "knowledg ...

on television shows on all the major networks. In 2006, VandeHei left ''The Washington Post'' to co-found a political publication, ''

''. In early 2016, it was announced that VandeHei was leaving ''Politico'' after the presidential election. In April he abruptly left, prior to his previously stated departure date, and penned a piece in ''The Information'' about the current vapid state of media, the downward spiral of chasing clicks, and the media's future.

Personal life

He is married to Autumn Hanna VandeHei, a former staffer for House Republican Leader

Tom DeLay Thomas Dale DeLay (; born April 8, 1947) is an American author and retired politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1985 until 2006. He was Republic ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

who served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Legislation (Human Services) in the

Presidency of George W. Bush George W. Bush's tenure as the 43rd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2001, and ended on January 20, 2009. Bush, a Republican from Texas, took office following a narrow victory over Democratic i ...

. She was an executive producer of ''I Am Jane Doe,'' a film on sex trafficking. Jim and Autumn have three children and reside in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...

References

External links

Profile
at ''

'' * *
100 People To Watch
Washingtonian, December 1999

Jacob Phillips, ''Advance Titan'', March 30, 2005 {{DEFAULTSORT:Vandehei, Jim 1971 births American newspaper reporters and correspondents Living people University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh alumni People from Oshkosh, Wisconsin Writers from Wisconsin The Washington Post journalists The Wall Street Journal people Politico people 21st-century American journalists