https://jesusrodriguez.work Jesus Rodriguez Mon, 27 Oct 2025 01:26:18 +0000 https://jesusrodriguez.work en http://jesusrodriguez.work/Untitled-page Mon, 27 Oct 2025 01:26:18 +0000 Jesus Rodriguez 458283 http://jesusrodriguez.work/clips Wed, 23 Feb 2022 05:19:11 +0000 Jesus Rodriguez 420111 Selected Writing For The Washington Post FeaturesThe making of a trans MAGA YouTuber “So many people ask me, like, ‘How can you be right-wing and trans?’ And it’s like, honestly? I think that being trans actually made me right-wing.” (Jan. 23, 2026) The MAGA kids are not all WhiteA new generation of young Black politicos is riding the MAGA wave to Washingon.&nbsp;“No Black person wants to lose their Black card, right?” (Sept. 2, 2025) America, meet the Trump-Mamdani voterThe view from immigrant New York, where the ends of the political spectrum seemingly double back on one another. (July 18, 2025)The billionaire presidency is here. How’s the 99 percent feeling?Trump and his super-rich allies rode to power on a surge of working-class support. Bernie Sanders fans are in cope mode. (April 16, 2025) The pop star endorsement that could really swing the election? Bad Bunny. “Bad Bunny would give them that green light, right? That sense of, ‘Okay, if he’s for her, then it’s okay for me to be for her as well.’”&nbsp; (Sept. 19, 2024) The charmed lives of retired senators“After a while, you got to say enough. Enough! I’ve been to enough openings and enough meetings with constituents on everything from agriculture to housing to health to God knows what — yeah, that’s part of the job! When you’re 73, isn’t it time to just kind of move on and let somebody else take over?” (Sept. 26, 2023) Profiles What did Sen. Alex Padilla get handcuffed for?The California Democrat, not known for theatrics, was muscled to the ground after interrupting a Homeland Security press conference. He wondered whether it was worth it. (June 19, 2025) Trump wants it known as the Gulf of America. How American is the gulf? Amid Trump’s attempts to rename the Gulf of Mexico, I traveled from Panama City Beach, Fla., to Brownsville, Texas to find out what Gulf Coast dwellers wanted from their government. (March 12, 2025) Actually, Sarah McBride does have an agendaThe first trans member of Congress would much rather talk about your credit score than Republicans’ attempts to bar her from using certain restrooms. (Jan. 10, 2025) Usha Vance is a loud voice in JD’s ear. What will she say?“Oh, and use the fat spoon for soup.” (Dec. 3, 2024) In Michigan, a Biden organizer turns on the president over Palestine “If you gave me two options and you said, ‘Do you want a Muslim ban, or do you want your family killed?’ I’ll choose the Muslim ban.” (March 7, 2024) Alejandro Mayorkas, with his back to the wallThe secretary of homeland security goes to work on the grounds of a place once known as the Government Hospital for the Insane. (Feb. 5, 2024) Bob Menendez’s golden ruleMore than four decades ago, before all this, Mario Menendez had some advice for his son. Which is why the federally indicted senator says he’s a man of his word. (Jan. 23, 2024) The former GOP congresswoman whose party is targeting her son’s community“But it’s just never-ending, the onslaught of bills and the press conferences and the hateful words. It impacts me emotionally.” (July 24, 2023) For Politico Magazine On the Run With George SantosThat’s what a donut is. Nothingness surrounded by nutritional nothingness.&nbsp;Ask George Santos a question, and the response will, too, leave you unsated. (Jan. 31, 2023) Colombia’s First Black VP on Black Power, Climate Reparations and the Assassination Attempt on Her Life “That’s the history I come from — from that rebellious people who never accepted slavery. We’re not descendants of slaves. We’re descendants of free people who were enslaved.”&nbsp;(Jan. 20, 2023) Read also in Spanish. How Dobbs Triggered a ‘Vasectomy Revolution’ Inside a black trailer vinyl-wrapped with illustrations of cartoon sperm, the faint smell of burning flesh fills the enclosure. Here, in this unconventional operating room — situated in a Planned Parenthood parking lot — the doctor is trying, with mixed success, to get his patient to relax. (Dec. 2, 2022)How the Migrant Caravan Built Its Own Democracy To hear President Donald Trump tell it, the caravan is nothing more than a “lawless” mob of potentially violent criminals. But dozens of phone interviews and WhatsApp conversations with advocacy groups and migrants, as well as social media updates from groups on the ground, show that the migrants have organized a surprisingly sophisticated ruling structure, complete with everything from a press shop to a department of public works. (Dec. 12, 2018) Read also in Spanish. For VoxWhy it’s so hard to rewrite a country’s constitution Sometime between October 2020 and September 2022, the effort to amend Chile’s social contract unraveled. (Sept. 17, 2022) The Supreme Court is keeping Trump’s promisesAfter deplaning on the tarmac of Joint Base Andrews on his last day in office, Donald Trump made a pledge to the crowd of supporters gathered there: “We will be back in some form.” (July 2, 2022) The “natural-born citizen” ceiling Immigrants who have lived abroad or grown up with stories of political chaos know that the most violent days always start out in an eerie quiet, as Jan. 6, 2021, did in Washington, DC. At one end of the National Mall, a Capitol police officer banged on the door of Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.). (April 12, 2021)    Selected Writing For The Washington Post FeaturesThe making of a trans MAGA YouTuber “So many people ask me, like, ‘How can you be right-wing and trans?’ And... http://jesusrodriguez.work/Home Mon, 30 Nov 2015 23:14:12 +0000 Jesus Rodriguez 409689 <img width="1369" height="1600" width_o="1369" height_o="1600" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/6ba0c729c5cea00f8ae9e086c3e2bcc2234fd564b4c3d14004d17059ccfaf62d/128C5EDB-D21D-4145-956E-853842D0F13C_1_201_a.jpeg" data-mid="1436349" border="0" data-scale="45"/> I’m a political features writer in Washington, D.C., covering politics, characters, and culture. Most recently I worked as a politics reporter for the&nbsp;Washington Post Style section, where I wrote features and profiles about national politics.&nbsp; I have reported, among other subjects, on the rise of Black MAGA influencers, Donald Trump-Zohran Mamdani voters, the charmed lives of senators who swore off the gerontocracy, and the politics of a Bad Bunny endorsement. My assignments have taken me to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, along 989 miles of the U.S. Gulf Coast, and inside a vasectomy van roving Missouri. My profile subjects have included Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.), Second Lady Usha Vance, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), the trans MAGA YouTuber Blaire White, among others. Previously, I was a staff writer and contributing editor at Politico Magazine, where I wrote about politics and law and published the magazine’s only articles in Spanish. I’m an alumnus of the Periplus Collective. The Society for Features Journalism selected me for its Best Feature Writing Portfolio award in 2024. You can find more of my work here. I’m also on Bluesky and Twitter.  I’m originally from Maracaibo, Venezuela, but grew up in Orlando, Fla. I studied international politics at Georgetown University and have a law degree from Georgetown. Contact:&nbsp; Photo: Marvin Joseph I’m a political features writer in Washington, D.C., covering politics, characters, and culture. Most recently I worked as a politics reporter for...