Jessica Dean is the host of the primetime weekend edition of CNN Newsroom, based in New York City. She also reports on politics as a correspondent in the field.
Dean previously served as a CNN congressional correspondent on Capitol Hill, playing an integral role in CNN’s political coverage while also serving as a substitute anchor for CNN’s dayside programming on CNN News Central, CNN Newsroom, CNN This Morning, Inside Politics and more, where she led coverage for historic breaking news, notably including the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump and Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel.
Prior to this, Dean spent nearly two years on the trail with Biden, traveling extensively across the country and then covering the first modern presidential campaign to take place during a global pandemic.
She reported live from the Democratic National Convention in Delaware and both presidential debates. Dean also covered the Biden transition, reporting extensively from the headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware.
Prior to joining CNN, Dean worked at KYW-TV in Philadelphia where she was the co-anchor of the weekday evening newscasts. In 2017, she acted as a panelist for the New Jersey Gubernatorial Debate. She also covered the 2016 presidential race extensively, anchoring and reporting live from the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, election night from Hillary Clinton’s headquarters in New York City and President Donald Trump’s inauguration in Washington, D.C.
Dean covered Pope Francis’ visit to the United States in 2015, anchoring and reporting live from Rome and Philadelphia.
A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, Dean covered Arkansas politics and the state legislature while working as an anchor and reporter in Little Rock. Her career began in Fort Smith, Arkansas where she was a general assignment reporter.
She holds a degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.