Peter Baker Photo by Getty, Twitter

By Naomi Zeveloff December 13, 2016

Peter Baker, the new New York Times’ bureau chief in Jerusalem, announced that he would be leaving the Holy Land after less than six months to return to his veteran beat and cover the White House for Times.

“It’s been a terrific if much too short adventure for all of us in Jerusalem — and we’re lucky to have made many new friends in these last few months,” Baker announced on Facebook on December 12. “Our schedule isn’t set but we’re expecting to get back to Washington next month.

He noted that his wife, Susan Glasser, will be writing about international affairs for Politico and consulting the news organization on editorial innovation from Washington, DC. She was an editor at Politico before she left the post to join Baker in Jerusalem, said The Washington Post.

Baker’s recall back to Washington is part of a broader plan at the New York Times to aggressively cover the Donald Trump presidency. The newspaper is reportedly placing more reporters on the White House beat than ever before.

A Times’ memo announcing Baker’s move cited Baker’s combined 15 years of reporting on Washington, both at the Times and The Washington Post.

“Peter is an expert on the presidency, how presidents change the job and how they fit into history. This will be an historic presidency and he should be part of the coverage,” Times Executive Editor Dean Baquet told The Washington Post.

Contact Naomi Zeveloff at [email protected]

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