Ruth Allyn Marcus (born May 15, 1958) is an American political commentator and journalist who currently writes an

op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page", is a written prose piece, typically published by a North-American newspaper or magazine, which expresses the opinion of an author usually not affiliated with the publication's editorial board. O ...

column for '' The Washington Post'' and serves as the Deputy Editorial Page Editor for the newspaper. In March 2007, she was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. Unusual among the majority of journalists, she is also a law school graduate, although she opted to continue with a career in journalism versus practicing law as an attorney. Ideologically and politically, she identifies as a liberal and is registered as an Independent.

Biography

Background and education

Marcus was born in Philadelphia in 1958 and grew up in a Jewish family in Livingston, New Jersey. 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 and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...

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 where she wrote for the college newspaper.

Career

Harvard Law School

After receiving her Yale 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 newspape ...

'', before attending

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

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

''The Washington Post''

Marcus began writing for '' The Washington Post'' while still in law school, and formally joined the paper after graduation. From her ''Washington Post'' biography:

Marcus has been with The Post since 1984. She joined the national staff in 1986, covering campaign finance, the Justice Department, the Supreme Court and the White House. From 1999 through 2002, she served as deputy national editor, supervising reporters who covered money and politics, Congress, the Supreme Court, and other national issues. She joined the editorial board in 2003 and began writing a regular column in 2006.

Works

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

Personal life

Marcus is married to former Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz, 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 writers 21st-century American journalists 21st-century American women writers 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