Dana Bash

Dana Bash, born Dana Ruth Schwartz on June 15, 1971, is an award-winning Jewish-American journalist, television anchor, and political correspondent. Bash’s career has focused on covering national politics for CNN for decades.

Bash graduated from George Washington University with a B.A. in political communications in 1993. Her career with CNN began that same year at the network’s Washington, D.C. bureau, where she worked as a library assistant. She then became an editor and a producer for public affairs shows, including “Inside Politics with Wolf Blitzer” and “Evans & Novak.” She also worked as a Capitol Hill producer coordinating the network’s U.S. Senate coverage.

Bash reported on the 2000 U.S. presidential primaries and several House and Senate races. In 2002, she received her first Everett McKinley Dirksen Award for Distinguished Reporting of Congress from the National Press Foundation for her reporting on the government interception of Al-Qaeda translations on September 10, 2001. She would later cover the 2004 presidential campaign and the 2006 midterm elections.

In 2006, Bash began covering the U.S. Congress, and in 2010, she received her second Dirksen Award for her coverage of congressional “earmarks.” Bash also served as a White House correspondent covering George W. Bush’s administration. In 2008, she was part of the CNN team that won a Peabody Award for their “America Votes 2008” coverage of the presidential elections.

In 2012, Bash won the Joan S. Barone Award for excellence in congressional reporting on a STOCK Act loophole, which resulted in Congress passing legislation to close the loophole. In August 2015, CNN promoted Bash to chief political correspondent.

Bash has moderated several presidential debates. In 2015, she moderated a Republican presidential primary debate. She also moderated CNN’s first debate of the 2020 election cycle in Detroit and the last Democratic Presidential Debate of the cycle held in Washington, D.C. In 2016, she was a questioner in six of CNN’s seven primetime primary debates. In 2024, she co-moderated the first presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

In 2017, Bash launched her digital CNN series, “Badass Women of Washington.” In 2021, she launched her CNN series “Being...”. She currently anchors “Inside Politics with Dana Bash,” a weekday program, and co-anchors “State of the Union with Jake Tapper and Dana Bash,” CNN’s Sunday morning newsmaker show. She is also a primary fill-in anchor for Jake Tapper on CNN’s “State of the Union.” Additionally, she received the National Press Foundation’s 2019 Sol Taishoff Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism.

Bash’s reporting has included major national events such as Hurricane Katrina, the CIA leak investigation, and the capture of Saddam Hussein. She broke the story of House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s decision not to run for Speaker of the House in 2015 and conducted Speaker John Boehner’s final interview on his last day in office. She also served as the lead correspondent covering Hillary Clinton’s 11-hour testimony before the House Select Committee on Benghazi.

Bash has spoken about her family’s Holocaust history, informing her reporting on anti-Semitism. She is a congregant at Temple Micah, a Reform synagogue in Washington, D.C.. In 2022, while working on a CNN documentary about anti-Semitism, Bash sought advice from her rabbi on navigating discussions about anti-Semitism on the left. She has been outspoken about anti-Semitism, particularly since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. Bash has been targeted by anti-Israel protestors, including at her home, at a synagogue, and a book event.

She has interviewed numerous political figures, including Israeli politicians and leaders.

Bash is married and has one child.

Sources: “Dana Bash,” AAE Speakers.
“Dana Bash,” Ballotpedia.
“Dana Bash - About,” CNN.
“Dana Bash,” GW Alumni Association.
Ron Kampeas, “Get to know Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, the Jewish moderators of the Biden-Trump debate,” JTA, (June 27, 2024).
Jackson Walker, “Pro-Palestine protesters crash CNN anchor Dana Bash's book event: ‘Harassment,’” ABC7, (September 6, 2024).
Jon Levine, “CNN’s Dana Bash slams anti-Israel protester who confronted her at synagogue: ‘No shame, no decency, and no clue,’” New York Post, (November 16, 2024).

Photo: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons​​.