Adam Jentleson is an American writer and political commentator.
Early life and education
Jentleson is the son of
Bruce Jentleson, professor at
Duke University
Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...
and former director of the
Sanford School of Public Policy
The Duke University Sanford School of Public Policy is the public policy school of Duke University, a private university in Durham, North Carolina.
The school was named after former Duke president and Governor of North Carolina Terry Sanford, ...
. He attended
Montgomery County Public Schools and lives in
Takoma Park, Maryland
Takoma Park is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Washington, D.C., Washington, and part of the Washington metropolitan area. Founded in 1883 and incorporated in 1890, Takoma Park, informally called "Azalea ...
.
Jentleson received a
BA in American History from
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
in 2003.
Career
Jentleson began his career as a policy researcher and
speechwriter
A speechwriter is a person who is hired to prepare and write speeches to be delivered by another person. Speechwriters are employed by many senior-level elected officials and executives in the government and private sectors. They can also be em ...
for the
John Kerry 2004 presidential campaign
The 2004 presidential campaign of John Kerry, the longtime U.S. senator from Massachusetts, began when he formed an exploratory committee on December 1, 2002. On September 2, 2003, he formally announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomina ...
. He then served as Manager of Congressional Affairs at the
Center for American Progress
The Center for American Progress (CAP) is a public policy think tank, research and advocacy organization which presents a Modern liberalism in the United States, liberal viewpoint on Economic policy, economic and social issues. CAP is headquarter ...
, speechwriter for the
2008 presidential campaign of John Edwards.
[
Jentleson served as communications director and, later, deputy chief of staff for United States Senator Harry Reid from 2010 to 2016. '']The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' published his essay
The Side of Harry Reid Most People Never Saw
' the day after Senator Reid's passing on December 28, 2021.
Jentleson is a columnist for '' GQ''. Jentleson has also contributed commentary to ''Politico Magazine
''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American political digital newspaper company founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007. It covers politics and policy in the Unite ...
'' and ''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 ...
''. His 2021 debut book, '' Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy'', provides an extensive critique of the United States Senate
The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
, particularly the rise of the filibuster
A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent a decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking ...
during the 19th century and 20th century to slow the advancement of civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...
legislation for American minorities, particularly African Americans
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...
.
In 2021, Jentelson co-founded the political consultancy Battle Born Collective with Rebecca Kirzner Katz, also a former communications director for Reid. In 2022, Jentleson chaired a political action committee
In the United States, a political action committee (PAC) is a tax-exempt 527 organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation. The l ...
financed by Dustin Moskovitz
Dustin Aaron Moskovitz (; born May 22, 1984) is an American billionaire internet entrepreneur who co-founded Facebook, Inc. (now known as Meta Platforms) with Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum and Chris Hughes. In 2008, he left F ...
in a failed attempt to oust Montgomery County Montgomery County may refer to:
Australia
* The former name of Montgomery Land District, Tasmania
United Kingdom
* The historic county of Montgomeryshire, Wales, also called County of Montgomery
United States
* Montgomery County, Alabama
* Montg ...
executive Marc Elrich
Marc B. Elrich (born November 2, 1949) is an American politician serving as the county executive of Montgomery County, Maryland. He is a former member of the List of members of the Montgomery County Council (Maryland), Montgomery County Council a ...
.
In mid-November 2022, Pennsylvania's newly elected U.S. Senator John Fetterman
John Karl Fetterman ( ; born August 15, 1969) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Pennsylvania, a seat he has held since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, he served from 2006 to 2019 as the mayor o ...
announced the appointment of Jentleson as transition committee co-chair and, a few weeks later, in early December, named Jentleson as his chief of staff
The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...
.centrist
Centrism is the range of political ideologies that exist between left-wing politics and right-wing politics on the left–right political spectrum. It is associated with moderate politics, including people who strongly support moderate policie ...
and has stated that "The liberal">Liberalism_in_the_United_States.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Liberalism in the United States">liberalbacklash that happens online is actually the sign that you’re doing something right".
Book
* '' Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy'' [2021] New York, NY Liveright Publishing Corporation, a division of W. W. Norton & Company,
References
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
21st-century American male writers
Columbia College (New York) alumni
People from Takoma Park, Maryland
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