Susan Page

**Susan Lea Page** (born February 12, 1951) is an American journalist, political commentator, and biographer, and the Washington, D.C. bureau chief for _USA Today_.

## Early life

Page, a native of Wichita, Kansas, is a 1973 graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, where she was editor-in-chief of the _Daily Northwestern_, and has a master's degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where she was a Pulitzer Fellow.

As a child, Page had two passions: music and journalism. She began studying oboe in the third grade and played it in the school orchestras throughout her public school education. She was also the editor-in-chief of her high school yearbook, _The Hoofbeats_, and served as a reporter and editor for her high school newspaper, _The Stampede_. She considered attending music school, but ultimately decided to pursue journalism at Northwestern University.

## Career

Page has covered seven White House administrations and eleven presidential elections, and interviewed ten presidents. She founded and hosts a video newsmaker series for _USA Today_, "Capital Download". She appears frequently on cable news networks as an analyst and often guest-hosted _The Diane Rehm Show_, which was syndicated on National Public Radio. She was the first woman to serve as music chairman of the Gridiron Club show and was also president of the club in 2011, the oldest association of journalists in Washington. She was president of the White House Correspondents Association in 2000. She also served as chairman of the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards and has twice been a juror for the Pulitzer Prizes.

Her first book was published in 2019, a biography of former First Lady Barbara Bush titled _The Matriarch: Barbara Bush and the Making of an American Dynasty_. In 2021, her biography of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was published, titled _Madam Speaker: Nancy Pelosi and the Lessons of Power_. Page signed a deal with Simon & Schuster in 2021 to write a biography of broadcaster Barbara Walters. Page was selected as the moderator of the 2020 vice presidential debate between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris, which took place on October 7, 2020, in Salt Lake City.

Page attracted scrutiny over her journalistic ethics when investigations revealed she had hosted off-the-record events for Trump administration officials like CMS Administrator Seema Verma. _USA Today_ defended her participation, claiming she put on the soirees for female officials of both parties.

She is a frequent panelist on _Fox News Sunday_, _This Week_ on ABC, _Washington Week_ on PBS, and _Meet the Press_ on NBC.

## Awards

She has won several awards for her work, including the Merriman Smith Memorial Award, the Aldo Beckman Memorial Award, the Gerald R. Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency (twice) and the Sigma Delta Chi Distinguished Service Award for Washington Correspondence (shared).

## Personal life

In 1982, she married Carl Leubsdorf, syndicated columnist and former Washington bureau chief for _The Dallas Morning News_, in a non-denominational ceremony in Washington, D.C.

## External links

- https://susanpagedc.com/
- Her bio from usatoday.com
- Interview with Susan Page in the recruiting section of usatoday.com (2004)

## Infobox (writer)

- **name**: Susan Page
- **image**: Susan Page at LBJ Foundation and More Perfect hosted a two-day conference, Trust News Democracy at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum on 10 April 2024 - DIG15197jjg-007 (53656274965) (cropped).jpg
- **caption**: Page in 2024
- **birth name**: Susan Lea Page
- **birth place**: Wichita, Kansas, Wichita, Kansas, U.S.