Ruth Allyn Marcus (born May 15, 1958) is an American political commentator and journalist. She worked for ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' from 1984 to 2025, where she wrote an

op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page," is a type of written prose commonly found in newspapers, magazines, and online publications. They usually represent a writer's strong and focused opinion on an issue of relevance to a targeted a ...

column and served as the Deputy Editorial Page Editor for the newspaper. In March 2007, she was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. Ideologically and politically, Marcus identifies as a liberal and as a

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

. She is registered as an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

Early life and education

Marcus was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

in 1958 and grew up in a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in

Livingston, New Jersey Livingston is a township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 31,330, its highest United States census, decennial co ...

. Both her parents were pharmacists. She attended school in Livingston with and has remained a close friend of fellow columnist Mona Charen.Mona Charen and Ruth Marcus

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American Cable television in the United States, cable and Satellite television in the United States, satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a Non ...

Q&A (television), July 9, 2006. Accessed November 30, 2014. "Brian Lamb, C-SPAN: Ruth Marcus, can you remember the first time you met Mona Charen? Ruth Marcus, Author: I can't remember the first time but I can remember many other times in the middle there because we were – we both started in Livingston, New Jersey in fourth grade." She studied at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

where she wrote for the college newspaper. After receiving her B.A. degree, Marcus wrote for the ''

National Law Journal ''The National Law Journal'' (NLJ) is an American legal periodical founded in 1978. The NLJ was created by Jerry Finkelstein, who envisioned it as a "sibling newspaper" of the ''New York Law Journal''. Originally a tabloid-sized weekly new ...

'', before attending

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

, from which she received her J.D. degree in 1984.

Career

''The Washington Post''

Marcus began writing for ''

'' while still in law school, and formally joined the paper after graduation. From her ''Washington Post'' biography: Marcus resigned on March 10, 2025 after CEO Will Lewis refused to publish an opinion piece that she wrote which was critical of Post owner

Jeff Bezos Jeffrey Preston Bezos ( ;; and Robinson (2010), p. 7. ; born January 12, 1964) is an American businessman best known as the founder, executive chairman, and former president and CEO of Amazon, the world's largest e-commerce and clou ...

. Two days later, on March 12, she published the spiked opinion piece in full, along with an essay reflecting on her career at the ''Post'' and the changes under Bezos's ownership, in ''The New Yorker''.

Works

* ''Supreme Ambition: Brett Kavanaugh and the Conservative Takeover'', Simon & Schuster (December 3, 2019)

Personal life

Marcus is married to former

Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) United States antitrust law, antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. It ...

Chairman

Jon Leibowitz Jonathan David Leibowitz (born June 17, 1958) is an American attorney who served under President Barack Obama as Chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from 2009 to 2013. Leibowitz was appointed to the commission in 2004, and resigned in 20 ...

, a Democrat. The couple have two daughters, Emma and Julia.

References

External links

Ruth Marcus
at ''The Washington Post'' *
C-SPAN ''Q&A'' interview with Marcus and Mona Charen, July 9, 2006

C-SPAN ''Q&A'' interview with Marcus and Mona Charen, April 12, 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marcus, Ruth 1958 births Living people 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American women journalists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American journalists 21st-century American women journalists American columnists Harvard Law School alumni Jewish American journalists Journalists from New Jersey Journalists from Pennsylvania MSNBC people NBC News people People from Livingston, New Jersey The Washington Post people American women columnists Yale University alumni American Zionists