RTÉ HAS ANNOUNCED that Jackie Fox is to become the broadcaster’s new Washington Correspondent, essentially the station’s main reporter on matters pertaining to the United States.

The posting is among the highest profile in the RTÉ newsroom in that it covers events in the White House and US-based cultural events such as the Academy Awards.

Fox is set to begin her role in March and it is understood she will definitely be in place for the upcoming St Patrick’s Day visit of Taoiseach Micheál Martin to the White House.

That visit is expected to garner even more interest than usual given the various international crises being experienced as a result of US President Donald Trump’s foreign policy.

Fox has been the host of RTÉ’s US politics podcast States of Mind for a number of years after it was launched prior to the 2020 election and she also holds an MA in American Studies from the UCD Clinton Institute.

Fox has been with RTÉ for 14 years where she has presented a number of shows including Morning Ireland and This Week and has reported for the station both in Ireland and abroad.

In a statement released by RTÉ, Fox made reference to the turbulent period in which she is taking on the role of Washington Correspondent.

“The last year has seen major shifts in US foreign policy and a changing landscape in domestic politics. Washington is at the centre of this dramatic transformation,” she said.

I’m really looking forward to reporting from this frontline and examining what it all means for Ireland and the world. As we know, news from DC reverberates faster than ever through the online world. My focus will be on delivering clear, trusted reporting from broadcast to digital.

RTÉ’s Sean Whelan has been the station’s man in Washington for the past four years and the broadcaster says he is “due to return to the RTÉ Newsroom in Dublin”.

Previous journalists who have held RTÉ’s Washington-based role over the years include Brian O’Donovan, Caitríona Perry, Charlie Bird, Carole Coleman and Mark Little.

RTÉ is currently without a London Correspondent after the most recent holder of the role Tommy Meskill returned to Dublin last month to co-host the Six One News.

A spokesperson for RTÉ confirmed that this post is still being advertised internally as part of the process to replace Meskill.