Henry Olsen
Senior Fellow
Henry Olsen, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, studies and provides commentary on American politics. His work focuses on how America’s political order is being upended by populist challenges, from the left and the right. He also studies populism’s impact in other democracies in the developed world.
For media inquiries or to book Mr. Olsen for an interview, contact [email protected].
Click here to view the full archive of Mr. Olsen’s writings at The Washington Post.
Click here to view the full archive of Mr. Olsen’s writings at National Review Online.
Henry Olsen, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, studies and provides commentary on American politics. His work focuses on how America’s political order is being upended by populist challenges, from the left and the right. He also studies populism’s impact in other democracies in the developed world.
Mr. Olsen is an opinion columnist for The Washington Post, where he writes daily pieces focusing on politics, populism, foreign affairs and American conservative thought. He is also the author of The Working Class Republican: Ronald Reagan and the Return of Blue-Collar Conservatism and The Four Faces of the Republican Party, co-authored with Dante Scala.
Mr. Olsen is teaching as the Thomas W. Smith Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence at Arizona State University for the Winter/Spring 2023 semester.
Mr. Olsen was previously an editor at UnHerd.com and a regular contributor to American Greatness, City Journal, and World Magazine. Mr. Olsen’s work has been featured in many prominent publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, National Review, The Guardian, and The Weekly Standard.
His predictions of the 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018 elections were particularly praised for their remarkable accuracy. In the 2016 campaign, he accurately identified the factors fueling the rise of Donald Trump early in the race, and his election-eve predictions were among the most accurate of any major analyst or commentator.
Mr. Olsen has worked in senior executive positions at many center-right think tanks. He most recently served from 2006 to 2013 as Vice President and Director, National Research Initiative, at the American Enterprise Institute. He previously worked as Vice President of Programs at the Manhattan Institute and President of the Commonwealth Foundation.
Mr. Olsen started his career as a political consultant at the California firm of Hoffenblum-Mollrich. He then worked with the California State Assembly Republican Caucus before attending law school. He served as a law clerk to the Honorable Danny J. Boggs on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and as an associate at Dechert, Price & Rhoads. He has a B.A. from Claremont McKenna College and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School, where he served as Comment Editor for the University of Chicago Law Review.
Calls for Impeaching Kavanaugh Are Damaging Our Democracy
Henry Olsen
New calls for the impeachment of Justice Kavanaugh are unjustified and simply one more log on the roaring fire of hyperpartisanship that is destroying American democracy.
Articles
The Washington Post / September 16, 2019
The Three Big Winners of the Houston Debate
Henry Olsen
Thursday’s Democratic debate lacked the sparks and conflicts that characterized the first two outings. It nonetheless produced three clear winners: former vice president Joe Biden, Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.).
Articles
The Washington Post / September 13, 2019
The Great Tory Realignment Was Bound to Happen
Henry Olsen
The British Conservative Party is coming apart, with 21 Tories expelled from the party by Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other anti-no-deal Brexit members resigning. These unprecedented developments are in fact just another example of the global political realignment.
Articles
The Washington Post / September 9, 2019
Ruin or Renewal? Thoughts on America’s Third Century
Henry Olsen
Our political contests are increasingly bitter and render normal political decision making impossible. It is tempting, but wrong, to assume that past will be prologue, that our current divisions are temporary and will fade in short order.
Articles
Law and Liberty / September 3, 2019
Britain Is on the Verge of a Constitutional Crisis
Henry Olsen
The loss of a Conservative majority in the House of Commons sets up an unpredictable chain of events that could derail British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s promised Brexit strategy and throw the nation into a serious constitutional crisis.
Articles
The Washington Post / September 3, 2019
Trump’s New Tax Idea Would Devastate Him Politically
Henry Olsen
A recent tweet from President Trump seems to suggest he is still considering signing an executive order indexing the capital gains tax to inflation. That would be a terrible political move for the already beleaguered president.
Articles
The Washington Post / September 2, 2019
The Burning Amazon Shows Exactly What’s Wrong with the Developed World’s Approach to Climate Change
Henry Olsen
Group of Seven nations have pledged millions of dollars in aid to fight fires in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest to show they are serious about fighting climate change. Instead, the situation starkly shows how unserious their climate change policy is.
Articles
The Washington Post / August 27, 2019
U.S. Business Leaders Have Taken a Step to Finally Renew the American Social Compact
Henry Olsen
Treating employees like discardable machines rather than human beings can produce short-term financial results. But in the long run, it makes people distrust the engines of capitalism that provide such great wealth.
Articles
The Washington Post / August 20, 2019
Yes, Undocumented Immigrants Take Jobs from Americans. Here’s the Proof.
Henry Olsen
People who support high levels of low-skilled immigration often claim that immigrants do work that native-born residents won’t. The facts surrounding the Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids of seven Mississippi chicken processing plants show how untrue that claim is.
Articles
The Washington Post / August 16, 2019
Elizabeth Warren Is Gaining Ground. But Her Path to the Nomination Is Harder Than You…
Henry Olsen
Elizabeth Warren has become the flavor du jour in the Democratic presidential race on the back of two strong debate performances. But her polling numbers suggest passing former vice president Joe Biden will be a much harder task.
Articles
The Washington Post / August 15, 2019
If China Cracks Down on Hong Kong, Trump Should Extend His Tariffs
Henry Olsen
President Trump should not stand idly by if the Chinese government chooses to use force against protesters in Hong Kong.
Articles
The Washington Post / August 12, 2019
Republicans Are Howling About Government Spending yet Again. Here’s What They Get Wrong.
Henry Olsen
The Republican Party needs to show it understands what voters want by proposing a serious deficit-reduction package that includes tax increases on those who can afford it, in addition to a package of spending cuts. Ten years after Simpson-Bowles foundered, a new bipartisan compromise could achieve what a decade of futile gesturing has not: reduced deficits and moderate growth in government spending.
Articles
The Washington Post / July 23, 2019
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