About Lisa @LisaDNews
Lisa Desjardins is a correspondent for PBS NewsHour, where she covers news from the U.S. Capitol while also traveling across the country to report on how decisions in Washington affect people where they live and work.
She specializes in breaking down complex stories and political disagreements into the key pieces that matter, often translating numbers and fiscal information into accessible stories for the audience.
Prior to joining NewsHour, Desjardins spent nearly ten years with CNN as a senior correspondent and Capitol Hill reporter. Prior to CNN, she reported for the Associated Press, WBTW-TV, WIS-TV, WTS-TV, Reuters, and The Sun News. At WIS in Columbia, South Carolina, she broke news of the compromise to bring down the Confederate flag from the state house dome.
Desjardins earned a bachelor’s degree at the College of William and Mary and a master’s degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. She also received a first level graduate degree in Russian Studies from the Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia.
Desjardins is the recipient of a Peabody Award for CNN’s coverage of the 2008 election and a Society of Professional Journalists’ Sigma Delta Chi award for national breaking news for coverage of the Haiti earthquake.
Lisa’s Recent Stories
Politics Jul 10
Kavanaugh’s long paper trail could decide confirmation fightThe fight over President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee began today. Brett Kavanaugh started his climb toward confirmation by meeting with the Senate's top Republican and the chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Democrats are mostly united in opposition, fearing he would…
Politics Jul 05
‘My son is not the same’: New testimony paints bleak picture of family separationA motion filed by 18 attorneys general Monday asked the federal government to provide more immediate information and access to those detained after being separated at the border. Here are highlights from more than 900 pages of declarations, including personal…
Politics Jul 03
This is what you need to know about the Supreme Court nominationA compilation of current information on the who, what and when of President Donald Trump's next Supreme Court pick.
Politics Jul 02
Government finally confirms that child separations due to ‘zero tolerance’ policy have endedThe question has hovered over the agencies involved since the president signed his executive order on June 20. Administration officials told reporters that it would take an unknown amount of time to fully implement the change in policy.
Politics Jul 02
Read: HHS just stopped telling us how many kids have been separatedThis week, when the NewsHour asked about the current number of separated children, as well their ages, two different staff members received an identical HHS response which did not contain any of those numbers.
Politics Jun 28
Democrats warn rights are ‘on the line’ in coming Supreme Court fightA day after Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement, Democratic senators warned that the stakes could not be higher in the fight to replace him, and called for any nomination to wait until after the midterm elections. President Trump promised…
Politics Jun 27
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s primary win shakes up Democratic expectationsIn Tuesday's New York primary, a 28-year-old Democratic Socialist defeated a 10-term incumbent who was considering a run for speaker of the House. Now Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez could become the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. Lisa Desjardins reports that it…
Politics Jun 21
More than 2,300 children still separated from parents as GOP wrestles with immigration fixPresident Trump's decision to sign an executive order stopping the separation of migrant families at the border met with mixed reactions. Advocates are deeply concerned that the order ignores the families who have already been split up, and fear children…
Politics Jun 20
Trump makes abrupt about-face on family separation after intense pressurePresident Trump relented on the widely condemned practice of splitting up undocumented families on Wednesday, reversing his decision with the stroke of a pen while seeming openly conflicted about the decision. Instead, his executive order would detain families together, as…
Politics Jun 19
5 things we know, 5 things we don’t know about family separationThere is significant concern and confusion over how and why the United States is separating immigrant families at the border. Let us add some clarity.
