The story behind Capitol Source

Capitol Source didn't begin as Capitol Source. It started years earlier as Political Guru — a civic education website I built from scratch while working on Capitol Hill, driven by a frustration I heard constantly from constituents, colleagues, and friends: that Washington felt impenetrable, that the gap between what actually happens in Congress and what the public understands about it was enormous.

Political Guru was a first attempt to bridge that gap. It aggregated political news, explained congressional procedure, and tried to make the mechanics of government accessible to a general audience. It gained traction, but was ultimately compromised by a malware attack that took it offline. Rather than patch it back together, I rebuilt from the ground up — this time with a clearer vision, better infrastructure, and more experience to draw from.

Capitol Source launched in 2026. The name is intentional: the Capitol is where the laws are made, and "source" reflects both the commitment to primary sourcing and the belief that the best reporting on Washington comes from people who have actually worked there.

Why nonpartisan matters

Working inside Congress and the Pentagon requires political neutrality by necessity. Legislative affairs professionals serve the institution, not a party. That discipline became second nature — but it was reinforced in an unexpected place.

Some of my closest friendships in Washington were forged running with the Capitol Hill Running Club, a community that gathers every year to train for the Marine Corps Marathon, drawing staffers from Republican and Democratic offices alike. When you're logging miles together at 6am on the National Mall, party affiliation doesn't come up much. What does come up is a shared commitment to public service and a genuine respect for colleagues on the other side of the aisle. That experience shaped how I think about this work.

This site has no political agenda. The Daily Brief covers what happened in Washington — not what a particular party wants you to think about what happened. The education content explains how the system works, not whether it should work differently. The news aggregator pulls from sources across the political spectrum and lets readers draw their own conclusions.

I believe the most valuable thing a civic resource can offer right now is accurate, nonpartisan information delivered without condescension. Washington is complicated. The procedures are genuinely hard to understand. But they are not impossible — and explaining them clearly, without an ideological frame, is the mission of Capitol Source.