Peter Wehner is Vice President and Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. He is a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times and a contributing editor for The Atlantic magazine. Mr. Wehner has written for numerous other publications—including Time magazine, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Financial Times, The Weekly Standard, National Review, Commentary, National Affairs, and Christianity Today—and has appeared frequently as a commentator on MSNBC, CNN, Fox News, CBS, PBS, and C-SPAN television. He is also the Pamela and Jack Egan Visiting Professor at the Sanford School of Public Policy and the School of Arts and Sciences at Duke University.
Mr. Wehner served in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush Administrations prior to becoming deputy director of speechwriting for President George W. Bush. In 2002, he was asked to head the Office of Strategic Initiatives, where he generated policy ideas, reached out to public intellectuals, published op-eds and essays, and provided counsel on a range of domestic and international issues. He has also served as an adviser to several presidential campaigns.
Mr. Wehner’s book The Death of Politics: How to Heal Our Frayed Republic After Trump (HarperCollins) was published in June 2019. He is also author of City of Man: Religion and Politics in a New Era (co-authored with Michael J. Gerson), Wealth and Justice: The Morality of Democratic Capitalism (co-authored with Arthur C. Brooks), and co-editor of books on foreign policy (The Latin American Policies of U.S. Allies) and national security (Promise or Peril: The Strategic Defense Initiative).
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Pete Wehner has become the conscience not only of our organization, but really of the conservative movement, holding us true to our principles, including those that it's somewhat difficult in the course of a difficult struggle to remain faithful to.
Robert P. George
PUBLICATIONS
NIH Director: ‘We’re on an Exponential Curve’
Published in The Atlantic on March 17, 2020
The Trump Presidency Is Over
Published in The Atlantic on March 13, 2020
What Pete Buttigieg Understood
Published in The Atlantic on March 2, 2020
A Profile in Courage
Published in The Atlantic on February 5, 2020
The Downfall of the Republican Party
Published in The Atlantic on February 2, 2020
There Is No Christian Case for Trump
Published in The Atlantic on January 30, 2020
Christmas Turns the World Upside Down
Published in The New York Times on December 24, 2019
White House Oral History: Peter Wehner
Published in The Miller Center on December 13, 2019
Christian Doomsayers Have Lost It
Published in The New York Times on December 6, 2019
The Moral Universe of Timothy Keller
Published in The Atlantic on December 5, 2019
Are Trump’s Critics Demonically Possessed?
Published in The Atlantic on November 25, 2019
The Exposure of the Republican Party
Published in The Atlantic on November 14, 2019
The Presidency Deserves Respect—Even When the President Does Not
Published in The Atlantic on October 29, 2019
Trump Betrayed the Kurds. He Couldn’t Help Himself.
Published in The Atlantic on October 15, 2019
What’s the Matter With Republicans?
Published in The New York Times on September 30, 2019
Trump Is Not Well
Published in The Atlantic on September 9, 2019
The Joe Walsh Challenge
Published in The New York Times on August 28, 2019
Trump’s Words Are Poison
Published in The Atlantic on August 6, 2019
For Conservatives Critical of Trump: Talking to Peter Wehner
Published in Los Angeles Review of Books on August 2, 2019
George Will Changes His Mind—But Stays True to His Convictions
Published in The Atlantic on July 28, 2019
The Deepening Crisis in Evangelical Christianity
Published in The Atlantic on July 5, 2019
Interview: A Conservative’s Vision: Let’s Make Politics Great Again
Published in The Washington Post on June 24, 2019
Trump Is Betting That Anger Can Still Be Power
Published in The New York Times on June 19, 2019
Trump’s Sinister Assault on Truth
Published in The Atlantic on June 18, 2019
Interview: Culture War vs. Culture Care
Published in Crux on June 12, 2019
Interview: A Political Renewal?
Published in National Review Online on June 11, 2019
Politics Is Not Total War
Published in The New York Times on June 2, 2019
The Genius of Stephen Curry
Published in The Atlantic on May 14, 2019
David Brooks’s Journey Toward Faith
Published in The Atlantic on May 7, 2019
Why Jesus on the Cross Is No Mere Symbol
Published in The New York Times on April 19, 2019
Pete Buttigieg’s Very Public Faith Is Challenging Assumptions
Published in The Atlantic on April 10, 2019
The Democratic Party is Radicalizing
Published in The Atlantic on April 3, 2019
A Damaged Soul and a Disordered Personality
Published in The Atlantic on March 18, 2019
Religion and Polarized Politics: An Interview with Melissa Rogers and Peter Wehner
Published in Religion & Politics on March 12, 2019
It’s a Blessing to Bear Your Friend’s Burden
Published in The Atlantic on March 3, 2019
Republicans Sink Further Into Trump’s Cesspool
Published in The New York Times on February 28, 2019
Republicans Got Us into This Mess, and They Have to Get Us out of It
Published in The New York Times on February 8, 2019
What I’ve Gained by Leaving the Republican Party
Published in The Atlantic on February 6, 2019
The Uncommon Power of Grace
Published in The New York Times on December 23, 2018
The Full-Spectrum Corruption of Donald Trump
Published in The New York Times on August 26, 2018
Interview: What’s Left of the Right?
Published in Democracy journal on August 15, 2018
The Example of Charles Krauthammer
Published in The New York Times on June 21, 2018
The Great #MeToo Awakening
Published in The New York Times on May 13, 2018
Why I Am Still Grateful
Published in The New York Times on March 30, 2018
Trust, Facts and the Post-Truth Political Moment
Published in Knight Foundation on March 16, 2018
Trump’s White House Is a Black Hole
Published in The New York Times on March 3, 2018
The Bible Has Long Deserved a Museum. Now It Finally Has One.
Published in Mosaic on January 15, 2018
How Can I Possibly Believe That Faith Is Better Than Doubt?
Published in The New York Times on December 25, 2017
Recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s Capital Is Recognizing Reality
Published in Real Clear Politics on December 14, 2017
Why I Can No Longer Call Myself an Evangelical Republican
Published in New York Times on December 10, 2017
Restoring the Spirit of Liberty at Home and Abroad
Published in The Catalyst - Fall 2017 issue on November 1, 2017
A Call to Patriotism in America
Published in The Hill on October 24, 2017
Going Against the Republican Herd
Published in New York Times on October 22, 2017
Seeing Trump Through a Glass, Darkly
Published in New York Times on October 7, 2017
A Humble Political Influencer Gets His Crowns in Heaven
Published in Christianity Today on August 28, 2017
Behold Our ‘Child King’
Published in New York Times on August 26, 2017
Evangelicals, Trump and the Politics of Redemption
Published in Religion News Service on August 11, 2017
Declaration of Disruption
Published in New York Times on July 4, 2017
Where Is the Republican Leadership?
Published in New York Times on May 10, 2017
Mr. Trump Goes to Washington
Published in New York Times on April 29, 2017
Interview with Peter Wehner: Hardwired for Hope
Published in Lancaster Online on April 17, 2017
The Quiet Power of Humility
Published in The New York Times on April 15, 2017
After Great Pain, Where Is God?
Published in New York Times on March 26, 2017
The Battle for the Soul of Conservatism
Published in Real Clear Politics on February 26, 2017
Why I Cannot Fall in Line Behind Trump
Published in New York Times on January 22, 2017
Eight Was Enough
Published in New York Times on January 15, 2017
Obama’s Attack on Israel
Published in Real Clear Politics on December 28, 2016
Humanizing Jesus
Published in New York Times on December 24, 2016
Moderation is Not a Dirty Word
Published in New York Times on December 18, 2016
The Republican Party Is Being Refashioned
Published in Financial Times on November 13, 2016
Is There Life After Trump?
Published in New York Times on November 6, 2016
In Defense of Politics, Now More Than Ever
Published in New York Times on October 30, 2016
Republicans Who Care about the Future of the Party Should Ask These Questions
Published in National Review Online on October 24, 2016
The Ego-Driven Life
Published in The New York Times on October 20, 2016
Politics and the English Language: An Introduction
Published in The Trinity Forum: Politics and the English Language on October 4, 2016