Andrea Seabrook
Andrea Seabrook covers Capitol Hill as NPR's Congressional Correspondent.
In each report, Seabrook explains the daily complexities of legislation and the longer trends in American politics. She delivers critical, insightful reporting – from the last Republican Majority, through the speakership of Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats' control of the House, to the GOP landslide of 2010. She and NPR's Peter Overby won the prestigious Joan S. Barone award for their Dollar Politics series, which exposed the intense lobbying effort around President Obama's Health Care legislation. Seabrook and Overby's most recent collaboration, this time on the flow of money during the 2010 midterm elections, was widely lauded and drew a huge audience spike on NPR.org.
An authority on the comings and goings of daily life on Capitol Hill, Seabrook has covered Congress for NPR since January 2003 She took a year-and-a-half break, in 2006 and 2007, to host the weekend edition of NPR's newsmagazine, All Things Considered. In that role, Seabrook covered a wide range of topics, from the uptick in violence in the Iraq war, to the history of video game music.
A frequent guest host of NPR programs, including Weekend Edition and Talk of the Nation, Seabrook has also anchored NPR's live coverage of national party conventions and election night in 2006 and 2008.
Seabrook joined NPR in 1998 as an editorial assistant for the music program, Anthem. After serving in a variety of editorial and production positions, she moved to NPR's Mexico Bureau to work as a producer and translator, providing fill-in coverage of Mexico and Central America. She returned to NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C. in the fall of 1999 and worked on NPR's Science Desk and the NPR/National Geographic series, "Radio Expeditions." Later she moved to NPR's Morning Edition, starting as an editorial assistant and then moving up to Assistant Editor. She then began her on-air career as a weekend general assignment reporter for all NPR programs.
Before coming to NPR, Seabrook lived, studied and worked in Mexico City, Mexico. She ran audio for movies and television, and even had a bit part in a Mexican soap opera.
Seabrook earned her bachelor's degree in biology from Earlham College and studied Latin American literature at UNAM - La Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. While in college she worked at WECI, the student-run public radio station at Earlham College.
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Lawmakers are piecing together a plan to rebuild in the Gulf region that will cost more than the $60 billion already approved. The final reconstruction cost could affect your tax rate, unrelated government programs or the debts faced by your descendants. -
The House votes in favor of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). Thursday's early morning vote is a victory for the Bush administration. House Republicans had trouble keeping rank-and-file members from defecting as many Democrats opposed the accord.
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Andrea Seabrook reports on what Pennsylvanians think of the role Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) is playing in the effort to limit the right to filibuster judicial nominees. Santorum is known as a strong social conservative and faces a tough re-election bid in Pennsylvania.
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Republicans on a House comittee say they want to begin a preliminary investigation of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX). But Democrats seem unlikely to accept the inquiry until new, lenient ethics rules are revised. They say new rules put in place by the GOP leadership were designed to protect DeLay.
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Immigration overhaul, reauthorizing the Patriot Act and the bankruptcy bill are among the issues awaiting Congress when it returns from spring recess. Reverberations are expected from congressional intervention in the Terri Schiavo case and House Majority Leader Tom Delay's verbal attack on federal judges.
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House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is fighting several high-profile conflicts, including charges of ethics violations. The editorial page of the Wall Street Journal, usually a staunch supporter of congressional Republicans, has joined Democrats in asking for DeLay's resignation.
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President Bush signs legislation that will allow a federal court to hear the case of Terri Schiavo, a brain-damaged Florida woman. The president signed the measure early Monday morning, minutes after the House passed it on a 203-to-58 vote. The Senate approved the bill by a voice vote Sunday.
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The House is expected to vote Thursday on a bill that would make it tougher for illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses. Advocates view it as a necessary way to protect the nation from terrorism. Some Democrats see it as a backdoor attempt to overhaul immigration laws in what Republicans call a national security bill.
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House Republicans unexpectedly reinstate a tougher ethics rule governing their leaders. The move overturns a rule that was widely seen as intended to protect House Majority Leader Tom DeLay from having to step down if he is indicted in an ongoing campaign financing investigation. Hear NPR's Andrea Seabrook.
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House Republicans vote in a closed session Wednesday on whether to make rules changes that could shield Majority Leader Tom DeLay. A Texas grand jury has indicted several members of DeLay's staff on criminal charges related to campaign finances. A rule change could keep DeLay in his post if he were indicted. Hear NPR's Andrea Seabrook.
