Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy

Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is a White House Correspondent for USA TODAY covering President Donald Trump. Before that, she reported on the Biden presidency and the 2024 presidential election.

While on the beat, she broke news documenting the early misgivings among progressive Biden donors about his stance on the war in Gaza.

During President Trump’s second term in office, she’s written about the way Trump’s background in real estate is shaping his presidency, including the tactics he’s deployed to build a $400 million ballroom on the site of the demolished East Wing. She also has focused her coverage on how Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again movement has become an integral part of the Trump White House agenda. She’s reported on the way concerns around ultra processed foods, synthetic food dyes and environmental toxins have animated people across party lines (hello, MAHA Moms) and about the controversial policies around vaccines which have sparked political debate.

Swapna previously worked as the National Housing and Economy correspondent for the paper, winning the Newswomen's Club of New York's 2022 Nellie Bly Award for the Best Bylined Front Page Story. Her work has been recognized by the New Jersey Press Association, New York State AP Association and others.

Before joining USA TODAY in 2021, she worked at Gannett dailies in New York and New Jersey.

Swapna holds an M.A. in sociology from the University of Bombay and another in journalism from NYU.