August 2023

Robert Costa is the chief election and campaign correspondent for CBS News, where he covers national politics and American democracy. Based in Washington, D.C., he is a regular contributor to the CBS EVENING NEWS WITH NORAH O’DONNELL, FACE THE NATION WITH MARGARET BRENNAN, CBS MORNINGS and CBS NEWS SUNDAY MORNING, as well as to CBS News Streaming programs such as AMERICA DECIDES. As part of his coverage, Costa has interviewed high-profile leaders ranging from Vice President Kamala Harris to Congresswoman Liz Cheney to presidential candidates.

Before joining CBS News in 2022, Costa and reporting legend Bob Woodward co-wrote Peril, which was published by Simon & Schuster in September 2021. The book documented the tumultuous transition between the Trump presidency and the Biden presidency and was a #1 New York Times bestseller. It was also cited in congressional subpoenas issued by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

From 2014 to 2021, Costa was a national political reporter at The Washington Post, where he worked with colleagues on numerous investigations and covered Congress, the White House and campaigns. He served as a lead host of “Post Live,” the Post’s live interview series featuring his in-depth conversations with newsmakers such as Senator Bernie Sanders, Vice President Mike Pence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and actress Jane Fonda.

Costa served as the moderator and managing editor of “Washington Week” on PBS from 2017 to 2020. The respected primetime news program, which features discussions with top national reporters on Friday nights, is one of the longest-running shows on television. During Costa’s tenure, The Associated Press called the broadcast “satisfyingly wonkish and amid a TV sea of partisan megaphones ... especially important.”

From 2015 to 2020, Costa was a political analyst for NBC News and MSNBC, appearing on “Morning Joe,” “Today,” “Meet the Press” and “The 11^th Hour,” among other programs.

Costa holds a bachelor’s degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame, where he is a former trustee, and a master’s degree in politics from the University of Cambridge. During the 2022-2023 academic year, Costa served as a non-resident scholar at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics where his work focused on American democracy and journalism.