Peter Baker Photo by Getty, Twitter

By John A. Oswald January 31, 2016

New York Times White House correspondent Peter Baker says it’s official: He will be the new bureau chief in Jerusalem.

Baker confirmed the news on Twitter: “Worst-kept secret is out: Heading to Jerusalem as bureau chief, excited to share a new adventure with amazing @sbg1 (his wife, Politico Editor Susan Glasser).”

The former longtime Washington Post reporter will start in his new role after an upcoming book tour, The Times said on its .

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He is replacing replacing Jodi Rudoren, who is now a deputy on the Times’ international desk.

She confirmed her departure this past November: “On this Thanksgiving — or, as it is known here, Thursday — I am so grateful for the incredible, generous, insightful and intrepid Palestinians and Israelis who enabled me to do this most demanding work, and experience this most complicated place,” she said then.

Glasser is also in line for change. Politico announced she will leave her position at year’s end, after the election, to become director of editorial innovation and write a column. CNN Money has reported that she is actually in talks with The Times.

Worst-kept secret is out: Heading to Jerusalem as bureau chief, excited to share a new adventure with amazing @sbg1 https://t.co/V9XXclw03I

— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) January 29, 2016

The Times said this of Baker in its annoucement: “It is rare, even in a newsroom as full of riches as ours, to find a more compelling match of journalistic talent and critical assignment than Peter Baker and the White House. Since he joined The Times in 2008, Peter’s authoritative, probing, nuanced coverage has defined President Obama and his administration for our readers. Unflappable and inexhaustible, Peter has chronicled the most momentous stories of the era, from the health care and stimulus debates to the raid that killed Osama bin Laden and the decisions over war and peace in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

The paper continued: “There are few foreign posts as challenging, or closely scrutinized, as our chief correspondent in Israel and the Palestinian territories. There are also few foreign assignments that demand not only great reporting and writing but also an intuitive sense of Washington politics and diplomacy. It is a role tailor made for Peter, and we are delighted that he will join the foreign staff.”

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