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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Long-serving Rep. John Murtha (D-PA), known for his strong national security position, calls for U.S. troops to be withdrawn from Iraq as soon as possible. Murtha, a mainstay on the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Defense, originally supported the war in Iraq. -
The Republican leadership has pulled a provision to allow drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge out of a House budget bill in an effort to secure support for passage. But opponents are seeking a written guarantee the measure won't reappear in the conference report.
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Republican lawmakers try to come up with a package of spending cuts to offset the cost of hurricane relief. With the Bush administration now asking for less money for Katrina victims than anticipated, the spending cuts may be less dramatic.
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Rep. Tom Delay (R-TX) is indicted for a second time -- this time on money laundering charges. Last week, DeLay was charged with criminal conspiracy, which forced him to step down as House majority leader. If convicted, he could now face up to 20 years in prison.
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A day after Tom DeLay's indictment, which forced him to step down as House majority leader, members of both parties try to assess what it all means. DeLay faces a single count of criminal conspiracy relating to state campaign finance laws.
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Powerful Texas Republican Tom DeLay reacts to his indictment on a criminal conspiracy charge by saying he has done nothing wrong and calling the prosecutor a "partisan fanatic." Also, other congressmen react to the charges.
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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. -
Congress approves a $51.8 billion emergency spending bill for Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts. But some Democrats are not happy about the legislation, and they have further questions about the effectiveness of a congressional investigation into the failures of the relief effort.
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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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After months of squabbling, the House Ethics Committee finally agrees to meet. But the partisan standoff over Majority Leader Tom DeLay may continue, as the Republican committee chairman insists that his top aide run the committee staff; Democrats say the move violates panel rules.
