Jennifer Jacobs

Jennifer Jacobs
Alma mater	Iowa State University (BA in English Language and Literature, 1993)
Occupation	Journalist
Years active	1993–present
Known for	Senior White House correspondent for CBS News; political reporting for Bloomberg News and The Des Moines Register

Jennifer Jacobs is a prominent American journalist serving as a senior White House correspondent for CBS News.

Early life and education

In 1993, Jacobs completed her undergraduate studies, earning a bachelor's degree in English Language and Literature from Iowa State University.

Career

Jacobs launched her journalism profession in 1993 as a general assignment reporter at The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, where she covered local news and municipal government. She transitioned to The Post-Standard in Syracuse in 1999.

By 2004, Jacobs was reporting on politics for The Des Moines Register, focusing on the Iowa legislature and state governance. She was promoted in 2011 to chief politics reporter, concentrating on national political developments following the Iowa caucuses.

Prior to the 2016 presidential election, Jacobs joined Bloomberg as a national political journalist and shortly thereafter was named a White House correspondent. By late 2019, she had gained recognition for cultivating strong connections with Trump and his team. Her expertise has been showcased on networks like PBS, CNN, and MSNBC.

During the 2020 election cycle, Bloomberg News' editorial choice to reduce coverage of Democratic contenders due to owner Michael Bloomberg's presidential campaign caused friction with the Trump team. In February 2020, Jacobs was ejected from a Trump campaign press event held in Iowa.

In October 2020, Jacobs revealed that senior White House aide Hope Hicks had tested positive for COVID-19. This report preceded a series of infections among high-ranking Republicans and officials within the Trump administration. Her investigative work was instrumental in uncovering the White House COVID-19 outbreak, despite attempts by the administration to withhold this information.

In August 2024, Jacobs covered the release of Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich along with others as part of a complicated prisoner swap involving Russia. She faced allegations of breaching an embargo imposed by the White House intended to safeguard the confidential nature of the 24-person exchange spanning several nations. Subsequently, Jacobs left Bloomberg under circumstances that remain unclear. Bloomberg’s editor-in-chief John Micklethwait issued a statement confirming disciplinary measures against those involved and extended apologies to affected organizations including the Wall Street Journal.