CNN hires CNBC reporter as White House correspondent

By Matt Collins Article may include affiliate links

Kayla Tausche has joined CNN as its senior White House correspondent, the network announced July 24, 2023.

Tausche brings a background rich in economic, technology, and foreign policy that will bolster CNN’s coverage of these vital areas as President Biden seeks to win reelection in 2024. Her first day is today.

Tausche joins CNN after more than a decade at CNBC, most recently serving as anchor and senior White House correspondent reporting on the Biden administration, cabinet agencies and elections and filling in as anchor for all CNBC programs.

She served as a co-host for CNBC’s 2020 election night coverage and inauguration day and, as a correspondent, led coverage of the Biden campaign and contributed to the network’s field coverage of the 2012 and 2016 elections.

During the Biden administration, Tausche has broken news on the White House’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, US sanctions considered against Russia and China, rescue packages crafted to stem bank failures, and West Wing negotiations around raising the debt ceiling. Tausche also landed news-making interviews with top officials including Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, and United States Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai.

During the Trump administration, Tausche secured exclusive interviews with Vice President Mike Pence, Treasury Sec. Steven Mnuchin, chief of staff Mark Meadows and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, in addition to regularly interviewing foreign leaders and executives from the world’s largest companies. Tausche was at the forefront of reporting on Washington’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and the impact of these policies on Americans. Her investigations took viewers behind the scenes of the White House’s flawed airport screening program that exposed US customs officers to the coronavirus and pulled back the curtain on a failed deal by the Chinese government to inject $84 billion into the state of West Virginia.

From 2014 to 2017, Tausche co-hosted Squawk Alley, a show focusing on the intersection of Wall Street and Silicon Valley, from the New York Stock Exchange. When she joined CNBC in 2011, she covered Wall Street and its evolution after the 2008 financial crisis.

Tausche began her career with posts at the Associated Press in Brussels and the Financial Times Group in London and New York. An Atlanta native, she graduated with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she published research analyzing media coverage of the 1997 handover of Hong Kong from British rule.

She is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations and lives in Washington with her husband and two daughters.