It is with deep appreciation that we mark the departure of David Corn, our Washington editor for two decades. David has ably served the magazine as investigative reporter, columnist and general commentator on so many issues, over so many years, that it would be impossible in this short space to do his tenure full justice. From the Iran/contra scandal of the 1980s to the Iraq War to Plamegate, from the era of Reagan to that of Bush Jr., in hundreds of articles, columns and blog posts, David has skewered the foibles of Beltway bandits and reported on policy battles and political intrigue for Nation readers. With the magazine’s support, he broke stories of national importance and wrote several books examining the key issues of our day. David’s countless TV and radio appearances for the magazine raised our national profile and attracted new readers, and his work advanced the values long championed by The Nation. We wish David the best as he embarks on his next journalistic venture, as Washington bureau chief for Mother Jones.

At the same time, we are pleased to announce that Christopher Hayes will become the magazine’s new Washington editor. Since 2002, Chris has been reporting and writing on politics, economics and labor for a wide variety of independent publications, including The American Prospect, The New Republic, Washington Monthly, the Guardian and the Chicago Reader. From 2005 to 2006, Chris was a Schumann Center Writing Fellow at In These Times, where he spearheaded the political coverage that won recognition from Utne Reader for being the best in the country. He has most recently been a senior editor at In These Times, a Nation contributing writer and a Puffin Foundation Writing Fellow at The Nation Institute.

Chris is a political reporter and essayist with remarkable range–as demonstrated by his cover stories, comments and blog posts for The Nation. He will bring a fresh and distinctive perspective, intellectual curiosity and sophistication, and dynamism to the magazine’s coverage of the capital at this critical time in our nation’s history. Welcome, Chris.