Scott Horsley

Scott Horsley is a White House correspondent for NPR News. He reports on the policy and politics of the Obama Administration, with a special emphasis on economic issues.

The 2012 campaign is the third presidential contest Horsley has covered for NPR. He previously reported on Senator John McCain's White House bid in 2008 and Senator John Kerry's campaign in 2004. Thanks to this experience, Horsley has become an expert in the motel shampoo offerings of various battleground states.

Horsley took up the White House beat after serving as a San Diego-based business correspondent for NPR where he covered fast food, gasoline prices, and the California electricity crunch of 2000. He reported from the Pentagon during the early phases of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Before joining NPR in 2001, Horsley was a reporter for member station KPBS-FM, where he received numerous honors, including a Public Radio News Directors' award for coverage of the California energy crisis.

Earlier in his career, Horsley worked as a reporter for WUSF-FM in Tampa, Florida, and as a news writer and reporter for commercial radio stations in Boston and Concord, New Hampshire. Horsley began his professional career as a production assistant for NPR's Morning Edition.

Horsley earned a bachelor's degree from Harvard University and an MBA from San Diego State University.

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The Aurora Theater Shootings
5:19 pm
Mon July 23, 2012

Politicians Shy Away From New Gun Control Efforts

Credit Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images
Mourners create a memorial at the fountain of the Aurora Municipal Center after a prayer vigil Sunday for the 12 victims of Friday's mass shooting at the Century 16 movie theater.

Originally published on Mon July 23, 2012 11:45 pm

In the days since the movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colo., there's been little discussion of the laws that allowed the gunman to acquire his arsenal.

Authorities say suspect James Holmes, who was arrested at the scene of the shooting that killed 12 people and wounded dozens more, was armed with a modified assault rifle, two pistols, a shotgun and thousands of rounds of ammunition.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, told CNN this weekend that the guns are not the problem.

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Presidential Race
3:07 am
Thu July 19, 2012

Tax Professionals Scrutinize Mitt Romney's Returns

Credit J.D. Pooley / Getty Images
GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks at a campaign rally in Bowling Green, Ohio, on Wednesday.

Originally published on Thu July 19, 2012 9:58 am

President Obama's campaign continues to hammer presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney over the GOP challenger's refusal to release more of his tax returns. Romney has provided one year's record and promised a second year's worth of returns. But even some of his fellow Republicans now say that's not enough.

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Presidential Race
7:54 am
Sat July 14, 2012

Obama On The Stump In Virginia

Originally published on Mon July 16, 2012 4:54 pm

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

As Mitt Romney defends his business record, President Barack Obama is on the campaign trail. He'll be in the suburbs of Richmond, Virginia and Washington, D.C. today. Yesterday, the president traveled to the Tidewater region of southeastern Virginia, and he continued to make his pitch that he is the best champion for the middle class. NPR's Scott Horsley reports.

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It's All Politics
5:23 pm
Fri July 13, 2012

Why New Swing State Of Virginia May Determine Presidency

Credit Susan Walsh / AP
President Obama clasps hands with Sen. Mark Warner (left), D-Va., and Democratic Senate candidate Tim Kaine during a campaign stop Friday in Virginia Beach, Va.

Originally published on Fri July 13, 2012 5:30 pm

Yes, Virginia, you are this election year's Santa Claus.

And it could be your bag of 13 presidential electoral votes that will be the key to deciding who occupies the White House in January.

Proof of Virginia's gathering importance?

President Obama is in the midst of a two-day Virginia campaign swing. Republican candidate Mitt Romney dispatched former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani to counterattack Friday.

The airwaves are awash in campaign ads, and there's a veritable who-has-more-campaign-offices arms race well under way.

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NPR Story
7:58 am
Sat July 7, 2012

Economy's In Low Gear, But Obama's Bus Keeps Rolling

Originally published on Sat July 7, 2012 8:57 am

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

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Politics
7:29 am
Sat June 30, 2012

Obama's Health Care-Infused, Fire-Stoked Week

Originally published on Sat June 30, 2012 7:32 am

Transcript

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. President Obama told residents of Colorado yesterday that the country has their back. The president visited an evacuation center and met with some of the firefighters who have been battling the deadly Waldo Canyon fire near Colorado Springs.

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Election 2012
4:58 am
Tue June 26, 2012

Obama Tells N.H. Voters GOP Philosophy Is Wrong

Originally published on Tue June 26, 2012 8:25 am

President Obama attacked Republican rival Mitt Romney's budget math during a campaign rally in New Hampshire Monday. The Granite State has just four electoral votes, but it's expected to be hotly contested in November. The two presidential candidates also tangled over immigration policy on the same day the Supreme Court struck down portions of Arizona's immigration law.

Presidential Race
7:58 am
Sat June 23, 2012

Presidential Campaign Takes On A Spanish Accent

Originally published on Sat June 23, 2012 11:07 am

Transcript

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. The presidential campaign shifted focus a bit this week as President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney both reached out to the fast-growing population of Latino voters. The two men spoke to a national gathering of Hispanic politicians in Florida. Immigration, of course, is an urgent issue after Mr. Obama's decision last week to try to stop deporting some illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children.

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Latin America
3:09 am
Mon June 18, 2012

G-20 Leaders In Mexico Concentrate On Euro Crisis

Originally published on Mon June 18, 2012 10:39 am

President Obama and other world leaders are gathering in Los Cabos, Mexico, on Monday for the G-20 summit. They're hoping to get some assurances that European governments are getting control of their financial problems before they become a further drag on the global economy.

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Politics
6:51 am
Fri June 15, 2012

In Ohio, Obama Calls For 'Shared Vision' On Economy

Originally published on Fri June 15, 2012 10:56 am

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

President Obama's Ohio speech yesterday was designed to draw a contrast between his economic vision and Mitt Romney's. It was also meant to argue that the state of the economy doesn't hand his rival the keys to the White House.

NPR's Scott Horsley reports.

SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE: As initial unemployment claims ticked up again this week, President Obama said he's reminded every day just how tough things still are for many Americans. But he also expressed confidence that by working together, those challenges can be overcome.

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