Cleve R. Wootson Jr.

Washington, D.C.

White House, politics, political campaigns, criminal justice, equity

Education: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, bachelor's in journalism and mass communication

Cleve R. Wootson Jr. is a White House reporter for The Washington Post. He previously covered the 2020 campaign for president, and worked on The Post's General Assignment before that. For a decade, he was a reporter for the Charlotte (N.C.) Observer.
Latest from Cleve R. Wootson Jr.

Kamala Harris ran her office like a prosecutor. Not everyone liked that.

After a difficult first year as vice president, Harris has grown into her role — and found staff who respond better to her style, allies say

September 6, 2024
Vice President Kamala Harris's management style has been scrutinized throughout her political career. If she wins the presidency, she would inherit a monumental management challenge: overseeing the vast federal bureaucracy.

Harris makes pitch to union voters in ‘blue wall’ states

The vice president portrayed Trump as having a long history of hostility to workers in a bid to shore up support from laborers.

September 2, 2024
Vice President Kamala Harris, flanked by President Joe Biden, speaks during a campaign event at IBEW Local Union #5 in Pittsburgh on Monday.

With boost from grieving families, Trump sharpens attacks on Harris

The former president’s campaign aimed to turn the controversy over his actions at Arlington National Cemetery into an attack on the Biden administration’s handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal.

September 1, 2024
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump joins Marlon Bateman, left, former Marine Cpl. Kelsee Lainhart and Marine Sgt. Tyler Vargas-Andrews on Aug. 26 at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery for a wreath-laying ceremony to honor those who died at the Abbey Gate bombing in Afghanistan.

Trump, Vance and GOP struggle to address abortion issues

Heading into the campaign’s final stretch, Republicans careen between their base and swing voters on the powerful issue of reproductive rights

August 31, 2024
Thousands of antiabortion demonstrators at the March for Life in Washington last January are greeted by counterprotesters.

In N.C., some Black voters are uneasy with Harris’s abortion rights focus

Democrats worry that socially conservative Black voters in the South are wary of Harris’s outspoken support for reproductive freedom.

August 31, 2024
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally in Fayetteville, N.C., in July.

Harris says she will put a Republican in her Cabinet if elected

In first major interview since Biden’s withdrawal, Harris calls Trump’s attack on her identity “same old tired playbook.”

August 29, 2024
Vice President Kamala Harris and running mate Tim Walz, during their interview with CNN’s Dana Bash at Kim’s Cafe in Savannah, Ga.

Trump focuses on Midwest, Harris on Georgia in dueling events in swing states

Trump hit the trail in Michigan and Wisconsin, while Harris and Walz campaigned in Georgia and sat for a closely watched evening interview on a consequential day in the presidential race.

August 29, 2024
Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris greets supporters during a campaign rally in Savannah, Ga., on Thursday.

Harris, Walz tour southern Georgia by bus, chasing rural votes in key state

The tour is the Democratic campaign’s latest effort to compete in Georgia, which has become a critical battleground state.

August 28, 2024
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, speaks to marching band members at Liberty County High School in Hinesville, Ga., on Wednesday.

Harris to barnstorm through Georgia in effort to put state back in play

Vice President Kamala Harris will embark on bus tour across South Georgia in hopes of driving up voter turnout outside urban areas.

August 28, 2024
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a presidential election campaign event in Atlanta on July 30.

Trump and Harris jockey for advantage on military strength

Neither candidate served in the military, but both have wrapped themselves in its rituals and questioned the other’s competence

August 26, 2024
Former president Donald Trump lays a wreath during a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery alongside Marine Cpl. Kelsee Lainhart, who was injured at the Abbey Gate Bombing.