Robert McCartney

Washington, D.C.

Writer

Education: Amherst College, B.A. in American Studies.

Robert McCartney worked for 39 years at The Washington Post, including as a Metro columnist and editor. He also appeared as a guest commentator on MSNBC and Fox News, and local outlets Fox 5 TV, WRC TV, and WTOP and WMAL radio. He retired in 2021. McCartney wrote a twice-weekly Metro column from 2009 to February 2015, and he was The Post’s top Metro editor from 2005 to 2009. In the latter job, he supervised coverage of the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings, for which the staff received the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting. Since joining The Post in 1982, McCartney held a wide variety o
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Latest from Robert McCartney

Virginia votes for divided government, rejecting Youngkin’s pleas

Democrats took control of the Virginia House and kept control of the state Senate, dealing a blow to Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s conservative agenda.

November 8, 2023
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin speaks to reporters Tuesday while visiting a polling station. (Julia Nikhinson for The Washington Post)

As my Post career ends, I remember a historic night in Berlin and dining on birthday goat

With climate change and election denial, the United States may be worse off now than when I joined the newspaper in 1982.

August 9, 2021
The U.S. Capitol reflected against a skylight on Friday.

The ugly side of 5G: New cell towers spoil the scenery and crowd people’s homes

Property owners and local governments mount a surge of objections to the telecom industry’s rush to install new technology.

July 12, 2021
A 5G cell tower in Dewey Beach, Del.

Maryland and Virginia diverge when it comes to laying asphalt to widen highways

Political climates in the two states differ on widening highways because of concerns over environment, financing.

July 4, 2021

McAuliffe is clearer than Youngkin on Virginia schools funding, but Maryland bests both of them

Education promises to be a key issue in the Va. governor’s race; Md. plan is seen as national model.

June 21, 2021
Republican Glenn Youngkin and Democrat Terry McAuliffe are candidates for governor of Virginia.

We can’t fight racism if Whites see any remedy as a threat and an insult

White fragility is on display as conservatives blast racial equity project in suburban schools.

June 14, 2021
Buses sit at Tuscarora High School in Loudoun County.

Judge orders Virginia school district to reinstate teacher who said he wouldn’t use transgender students’ pronouns

The judge said Tanner Cross can head back to his job as a physical education teacher while his lawsuit against Loudoun County Public Schools proceeds.

June 8, 2021
Tanner Cross is a physical education teacher with Loudoun County Public Schools.

Yet another D.C. regional group aims to overcome the east-west economic divide

Connected DMV wants greater cooperation within the area to remedy racial and geographic inequities.

June 7, 2021
Connected DMV formed to encourage the region to collaborate to promote “socially responsible economic growth.”

Bowser’s record investment in housing won’t fully meet need, but she’s putting the suburbs to shame

Flood of federal dollars and new D.C. zoning plan could be game-changers for affordable housing.

May 31, 2021
Brookland Manor, a sprawling, Depression-era housing complex in Northeast Washington with many lower-income tenants. D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser wants to put more than half a billion dollars into affordable housing.

Republican Glenn Youngkin has a surprisingly good chance of winning Virginia governorship

The wealthy newcomer could break the GOP’s 12-year losing streak in state, but Trump’s shadow looms.

May 17, 2021
Glenn Youngkin speaks to voters in February in downtown Lynchburg.