Kimberley Strassel

Kimberley A. Strassel (born July 24, 1972) is an American author, journalist, and member of the Wall Street Journal editorial board. She writes a weekly conservative column, "Potomac Watch," which appears on Fridays.

Strassel grew up in Buxton, Oregon, and she graduated in 1990 from Banks High School in nearby Banks. She graduated with a B.A. from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs in 1994 after completing a senior thesis, titled "The Democratization of the Russian Secret Security and Intelligence Apparatus", under the supervision of Aaron Friedberg. Strassel immediately took a position at the Wall Street Journal upon graduation.

Before joining the Editorial Board she was a news assistant for the European edition of The Wall Street Journal in Brussels (1994–1996) and a staff writer covering technology for The Wall Street Journal Europe in London (1996–1999). She moved to New York in 1999 to cover real estate before quickly joining the editorial page as an assistant features editor.

In 2001, Strassel was the first mainstream journalist to cover problems with historian Michael Bellesiles's book Arming America (2000). Bellesiles resigned his professorship at Emory University in 2002 following an investigation launched by the university, and the Bancroft Prize for the book was revoked.

In 2005, Strassel became a senior editorial writer and member of the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal.

In 2006, she co-wrote Leaving Women Behind: Modern Families, Outdated Laws (ISBN 0-7425-4545-8), which argues that government regulation interferes with marketplace initiatives to provide women with economic opportunity.

In 2007, Strassel began writing the long-running "Potomac Watch" column for the Wall Street Journal.

Strassel favorably profiled then-candidate for US vice president Sarah Palin shortly before the 2008 election in an article entitled "I Haven't Always Just Toed the Line". The article originally appeared in the Weekend Interview section of The Wall Street Journal on November 1, 2008.

In 2012, Strassel wrote an editorial in the WSJ that alleged the Barack Obama campaign was targeting Frank L. VanderSloot, a national finance co-chair for Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign and a top campaign donor. Strassel's editorial was disputed by journalists and liberal commentators. In May 2013, as part of the IRS targeting controversy, Strassel reported that the IRS (not the Obama campaign) targeted conservatives, including Frank L. VanderSloot.

In 2014, Strassel won the $250,000 Bradley Prize, an honor which she shares with columnist George Willand former CEO of Fox News Roger Ailes. On the occasion of the award, the president of the conservative Bradley Foundation, Michael Grebe, noted "Ms. Strassel’s 'Potomac Watch' column is an essential example of journalistic excellence. Her keen focus on government transparency and accountability as well as her important analyses on issues of the day strengthen the American fabric.”

In February 2016, Strassel was among the panelists for the South Carolina Republican presidential debate.

In June 2016, she published a book called The Intimidation Game: How the Left Is Silencing Free Speech,detailing her assertions about the IRS's alleged harassment of conservatives and other similar events.

In an October 2017 editorial, Strassel criticized Fusion GPS, "the intelligence outfit that commissioned former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele to compile the now infamous Trump–Russia dossier."

By October 2019, President Donald Trump had tweeted about Strassel or retweeted her commentary more than 20 times, including calling for a Pulitzer Prize for her. Shortly before the November 2020 election, Strassel push unverified claims about Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden. Strassel's claims, published in an editorial in the Wall Street Journal, were contradicted by the Wall Street Journal's own reporting arm.

On October 15, 2019, Strassel released Resistance (At All Costs): How Trump Haters are Breaking America.

• In 2014, Strassel was awarded a $250,000 Bradley Prize from the conservative Bradley Foundation.
• In February 2016, Strassel was among the panelists for a Republican presidential primary debate held in South Carolina.

Strassel married journalist Matthew Rose in Buxton, Oregon, on July 15, 2000. The couple has three children. They have since divorced and Strassel has remarried.