From May to August 2026, William Wan is serving as an interim Congress editor, overseeing six reporters who produce enterprise, breaking news and accountability stories on the House and Senate. He is also editing the Post’s flagship morning political newsletter, the Early Brief, with half a million subscribers.
For three years, William Wan ran the Washington Post’s Beijing bureau and managed the work of seven Chinese journalists & news researchers. He created a pathway for them — under an authoritarian government — to report and write stories of their own and coached them from the basics of inverted pyramids to advanced investigative techniques. He led the China team to award-winning work chronicling human rights abuses and corruption and secrecy in the Chinese government.
Wan has served as weekend shift editor for the Post’s metro desk, overseeing its front-page stories and entire print section. His most recent edits include a front-page feature that was among the best-read stories on the anniversary of Jan. 6.
In 2025, Wan received a six-month fellowship to teach investigative journalism and run the independent student newspaper at University of Montana. He oversaw a newsroom of 50 journalists and pushed them to produce the best work of their young careers. “To put it simply, he inspires,” said Claire Bernard, editor of the Montana Kaimin student newspaper. “He sat down with reporters and editors one-on-one to discuss story pitches, writing structure and sourcing. Most importantly, William inspired many in the newsroom to view themselves as true journalists, not just students, who could achieve greatness in the field.”
In the past two decades, he has mentored scores of reporters, correspondents, producers and editors at the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Seattle Times and other outlets. One mentee, who went on to become an NPR host, reached out 15 years later to say: “That you took my dreams seriously and didn’t laugh in my face. You did an incredibly kind thing at an uncertain moment in my life,” she said. “Thank you with all my heart.”
Read some of his recently edited stories below:
He was attacked on Jan. 6. Can he make sense of it for the kids he teaches?
Nathan Tate was a D.C. police officer defending the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Now he’s trying to find the lesson in it.
Trump officials planned to mark 2.7 million living people as dead, whistleblower claims
A former Social Security executive said the plan, which was not carried out, would have used a death database to pressure immigrants to leave the country.
These Black congressmembers could soon lose their seats. They won’t go quietly.
After the Supreme Court weakened the Voting Rights Act, Black lawmakers are furious — and planning their next moves.
Nine hundred seventy-five days
It had been almost three years since she was first assaulted. Then came an opportunity for justice.
The Silent Mental Health Crisis on the Frontlines of Fire
As wildfires worsen across the US, job uncertainty is combining with a growing mental health crisis and threatening the lives of wildland firefighters.
