Michael Kruse is a senior staff writer at POLITICO and POLITICO Magazine. Writing about the people in politics who matter the most and why, he has won the National Press Foundation’s Everett McKinley Dirksen Award for Distinguished Reporting of Congress, a National Headliner Award for his coverage of Donald Trump and an honorable mention for the Toner Prize for Excellence in National Political Reporting. Prior to joining POLITICO, at the Tampa Bay Times, he won the American Society of News Editors’ distinguished non-deadline writing award, the Paul Hansell Award for Distinguished Achievement in Florida Journalism and other state, regional and national honors. His work has been anthologized in The Best American Newspaper Narratives, Out There: The Wildest Stories from Outside Magazine, and Next Wave: America’s New Generation of Great Literary Journalists. A native of the Boston area and a graduate of Davidson College, he lives in North Carolina with his wife, two daughters, two dogs, a fish and a cat.