New Climate Reporter Covering Policy and Politics

Over the past few years, the federal government has swung wildly from making climate change a top priority to dismissing global warming as a hoax. All the while, Evan Halper has been breaking news about the consequences for businesses, people and the planet.

Now he'll join the Climate desk at The New York Times as our next climate policy and politics reporter.

Evan has been covering the business of energy for The Washington Post since 2022, focusing recently on how fossil fuel companies have sought - and wielded - influence in the Trump administration. He's produced scoops about how utilities and tech firms try to woo regulators and where pollution from data centers could sicken neighbors , and found compelling tales about innovative ways to cut planet-warming emissions.

Evan sees around corners. In 2024, the Power Grab series he anchored recognized the controversy surrounding data centers long before the backlash against the facilities became a national issue and top campaign theme.

"Evan is multitalented, as good at sifting through documents to find a gold nugget as he is at finding the human at the heart of the story," said Sandhya Somashekhar, a domestic policy editor at The Times who edited Evan at The Post. "He excels at making a complex, important story also urgent and readable. Also, he's just a really nice guy and a wonderful colleague."

Before joining The Post, Evan spent 21 years at The Los Angeles Times, in both Washington and Sacramento. He covered the 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns and also reported on how federal regulations affected daily life and politics in the western United States. He spent five years as the Sacramento bureau chief, covering the end of Arnold Schwarzenegger's term and California's push to become a national leader on climate and the environment.

A graduate of Bates College and Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, Evan worked at The Philadelphia Inquirer and Newsweek earlier in his career. He will be based in Washington, and he starts Nov. 9. Please welcome him.

- Lyndsey, Mike and Jesse