MJ Lee

American journalist

MJ Lee
Born
Lee Min-jung

(1987-03-05) March 5, 1987 (age 37)
Seoul, South Korea
Other namesMin Jung Lee
CitizenshipUnited States
Alma materGeorgetown University
Occupation(s)Journalist, political correspondent
Years active2009 – present
Employer(s)CNN (2014–present)
Politico (2009–2014)
Known forCNN White House Correspondent
SpouseAlex Burns
Children1
Korean name
Hangul
이민정
Hanja
李珉廷
Revised RomanizationI Min-jeong
McCune–ReischauerI Minjŏng

Min Jung "MJ" Lee (born March 5,[1] 1987) is a South Korean-born American political correspondent for CNN and is currently a White House correspondent for the network.

She has previously worked for Politico.

Early life and education

Lee was born in Seoul, South Korea and raised in Hong Kong, where she and her brother attended Hong Kong International School (an American-system style school). In her junior year of high school, she moved to the United States to attend a boarding school and has never returned to South Korea since.[2] In 2009, she graduated from Georgetown University with a degree in government and Chinese.[3] During college, she interned for The Washington Post and South China Morning Post.[4] Lee was offered an entry level journalism position, but was then rejected due to being on a visa.[2]

Career

Months after graduation, Lee began working at Politico as a web producer.[1] By 2012, she was a finance reporter after a year on the breaking news desk. In 2014, she started working at CNN.[5] Since working at CNN, she has covered the 2016 United States presidential election (both Trump and Clinton campaigns);[6] as well as how the Me Too movement has affected Capitol Hill, covering the allegations against ousted U.S. Senator Al Franken (D-MN), former White House aide and Staff Secretary Rob Porter, and former U.S. Representative Blake Farenthold (R-TX) (all of whom resigned from their positions as a result of abuse or sexual misconduct allegations).[7] She has also covered the Republicans' contemporary attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.[8][9] Lee covered the 2020 Democratic presidential primary with a focus on the Elizabeth Warren campaign, and the 2020 United States presidential election with a focus on the Joe Biden campaign.

In January 2021, Lee was promoted to White House correspondent under the Biden administration.[10]

At APEC United States 2023, she asked US president Biden if he considered Chinese president Xi a dictator. Biden replied yes.[11]

Personal life

Lee became an American citizen on September 17, 2016, on Ellis Island, coinciding with her coverage of the 2016 US presidential election campaign.[2] She is married to fellow journalist Alex Burns.[3] In February 2021, she gave birth to their first child.

References

  1. ^ a b Lippman, Daniel (March 5, 2018). "BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: MJ Lee, CNN national political reporter". Politico. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c Lee, MJ (September 23, 2016). "The day I became an American citizen". CNN. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  3. ^ a b Pappu, Sridhar (March 5, 2016). "Millennial Reporters Grab the Campaign-Trail Spotlight". New York Times. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  4. ^ "Success Stories: Class of 2009". Georgetown University. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  5. ^ Wemple, Erik (December 19, 2014). "Politico editor Susan Glasser: We're in a 'period of growth and rising ambition'". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  6. ^ Wemple, Erik (December 8, 2016). "CNN reporter felt like a 'new person' after switch from Trump to Clinton". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  7. ^ "MJ Lee - Correspondent". CNN. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  8. ^ Lee, MJ (March 9, 2017). "Nobody wants their name on the Republican health care bill". Casper Star-Tribune. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  9. ^ Lee, MJ (January 9, 2017). "How the tables are turning on Obamacare". CNN. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  10. ^ Brian Stelter (January 11, 2021). "CNN announces promotions for Jake Tapper, Abby Phillip, Dana Bash and others". CNN. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  11. ^ Donald Judd (November 16, 2023). "Biden says he still believes Xi Jinping is a dictator". CNN. Retrieved November 20, 2023.