Henry Olsen

Washington, D.C.

Columnist focusing on politics, populism, and American conservative thought

Education: Claremont McKenna College, BA in political science; University of Chicago Law School, JD

Henry Olsen is a Washington Post columnist, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and the Thomas W. Smith distinguished scholar in residence at Arizona State University for the winter/spring 2023 semester. Olsen began his career as a political consultant at the California firm of Hoffenblum-Mollrich. After three years working for the California Assembly Republican Caucus, he returned to school to become a lawyer. Following law school he clerked for the Honorable Danny J. Boggs on the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and as an associate in the Philadelphia office
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Latest from Henry Olsen

McCarthy’s debt plan needs an endgame. Here’s what it could look like.

A bipartisan deficit-reduction commission could do some real good — if set up correctly.

April 24, 2023

This New Hampshire poll shows DeSantis’s path to defeating Trump

DeSantis can narrow Trump's sizable lead if he can force a one-on-one race.

April 18, 2023

Abortion is not the magic bullet that Democrats think it is

The truth is more nuanced.

April 12, 2023

Biden’s polling numbers should not be this low

He should be praying no talented progressive decides to test the presidential waters.

April 10, 2023

What’s next for the Trump indictment? Our columnists answered your questions.

Ruth Marcus and Henry Olsen answered reader questions at 1 p.m. ET on April 7.

April 7, 2023

Why Joe Manchin keeps flirting with a presidential run

It's time to take the possibility seriously.

April 6, 2023

It should be outrageous that Trump’s indictment is not a federal case

How would Democrats feel if partisan prosecutors in one of the country's most conservative jurisdictions went after Biden?

March 30, 2023

The GOP is playing catch-up on health care. It needs some fresh ideas.

North Carolina's expansion of Medicaid highlights the need for the GOP to make a big shift.

March 30, 2023

European elites won’t be able to ride out this populist storm

This will take more than patience; it will take change.

March 24, 2023

This Arizona town captures America’s deepening rural-urban divide

Queen Creek is one of the fastest-growing towns in the United States. And it comes with plenty of growing pains.

March 23, 2023