Pulitzer-winning journalist Dan Eggen found dead at 60

Dan Eggen, a longtime Washington Post reporter and editor who worked on three Pulitzer Prize-winning projects and helped lead the newspaper’s coverage of the White House, Congress and presidential politics, has died. He was 60.

Eggen was found dead Tuesday at his home in Washington, according to The Washington Post, which said his death was confirmed by his former wife, Stephanie Armour.

The newspaper said the cause of death is pending an autopsy. Police told the family that no foul play or violence was suspected.

Eggen spent nearly three decades at The Post and was involved in some of its biggest reporting efforts. He was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2002 for reporting on the network behind the September 11 attacks, and later served as an editor on Pulitzer-winning coverage of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election and the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Eggen became an editor on The Post’s politics desk in 2013 and later served as White House editor, campaign editor, Washington editor, senior politics editor and political enterprise editor.

He was among hundreds of Post journalists laid off in February. NOTUS said Eggen had been set to join its staff this spring.

“We are devastated to learn of the passing of Dan Eggen, a Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist and longtime veteran of The Washington Post who was set to join our staff this spring,” NOTUS said in a statement. “He was a legend in our industry and a mentor to many.”

In a newsroom announcement, Post executive editor Matt Murray called Eggen “a sharp editor with a keen story sense” who helped hire, edit and mentor dozens of politics reporters. Murray said Eggen’s “news muscle and instincts were integral to our coverage.”

Daniel Kenneth Eggen was born on February 1, 1966, in Iowa City, Iowa. Adopted at birth, he grew up in La Crescent, Minnesota, where his father was a Lutheran minister and his mother managed the home. The Post said Eggen is survived by two children, Madeleine and Max Eggen, and a sister.