Cecilia Vega is a recipient of the Emmy Award and a top journalist at ABC News, holding the position of Chief White House Correspondent. Her work is featured across all ABC News platforms, including “Good Morning America,” “World News Tonight with David Muir,” “Nightline” and “20/20.”
Since the very first press conference of President Donald Trump after his triumph in the 2016 election, Cecilia has been covering his presidency. Throughout this period, she has been at the forefront of an administration that differs from all others, pressing the government on a wide range of issues from Russia to immigration.
She has played a crucial role in ABC’s political team, reporting on some of the most pivotal events of our time, including two Supreme Court nominations, the dismissal of FBI Director James Comey, the Mueller report, a presidential impeachment, and all aspects of the president’s reelection campaign, including discussions, conventions, election night, and the aftermath.
Her coverage of the administration’s policy of family separation and handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, along with her one-on-one interactions with President Trump, has led to some of the most defining moments of the administration.
Prior to her coverage of President Trump, Cecilia spent over 239,000 miles and over 500 days on the campaign trail, reporting on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, while also anchoring the Saturday edition of “World News Tonight.” She also reported on the reelection and inauguration of President Barack Obama.
As the Chief White House Correspondent, Cecilia will maintain her role as a journalist for ABC News.
Cecilia initially joined ABC News in 2011 as a correspondent located in Los Angeles.
Her responsibilities have taken her around the globe, reporting on significant historical events such as a papal conclave and the Olympics. In the aftermath of the nuclear catastrophe in Fukushima, Japan,
Cecilia journeyed to the disaster area, wearing protective gear and entering the radioactive power plant – twice. She descended to the bottom of the Arctic in a submarine and interacted with whales in the Sea of Cortez. She has conducted interviews with a wide range of individuals, from celebrities to world leaders.
Before joining ABC News, Cecilia was an Emmy-winning journalist for ABC’s KGO-TV in San Francisco. Prior to transitioning to broadcast news, Cecilia achieved success as an award-winning print reporter, most recently at The San Francisco Chronicle.
Cecilia is a native of the San Francisco Bay Area. She and her husband, Ricardo, reside in Washington with their lively Boston Terrier, Jalisco.
Cecilia Vega Discusses her Experience as chief White House correspondent:
Viewers can watch Vega on ABC’s Good Morning America and World News Tonight with David Muir fearlessly confronting authority and forging her own path along the way.
This is evident as Cecilia Vega embraces her current role as chief White House correspondent for ABC News.
“It still hasn’t really sunk in to be honest. I think my real takeaway is it’s great to be the first you just can’t be the last, Cecilia Vega told ABC7 News Race and Culture Reporter Julian Glover.
Cecilia Vega is the first Latina appointed as chief White House correspondent by an English language network.
It was the first time I’ve worn my hair naturally curly on air and I have to say, it felt good! Shares on Instagram
Her appointment comes at a time when women are taking the lead in White House coverage for several of the nation’s major news outlets, including ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, and PBS.
While it may seem like a flashy headline, it is a transformative moment for representation.
“There have been many times over the last four years in this White House where I looked around the briefing room, feeling like the only one. I just hope that it is one of the last times that anyone covering the White House has to feel that way,” Cecilia Vega expressed.
She reminisces about a photo captured by a White House press corps photographer from inside the briefing room, depicting a sea of black and brown loafers (the D.C. uniform as she refers to it), punctuated by a pair of blue and red heels.
Those were her heels, symbolically acknowledging the barriers she continues to break.
Vega shares that while she is not always aware of being the lone Latina woman in the press corps, there are moments when it becomes apparent, especially when she is covering a subject that hits close to home, such as the impact of family separations at the border.
“I kept thinking, what would my mom back home in Oakland be thinking? What would she want to know?” said Vega. “My family never would have expected anyone in our family to end up working at the White House, what an example of the American dream. To have the granddaughter of Mexican immigrants working at the White House.“
Vega was born and raised in the Bay Area and hails from a family of blue-collar workers.
She penned articles for the San Francisco Chronicle previously.
“When I landed that job at the Chronicle I thought, ‘wow I made it to the big leagues!’ I did make it to the big leagues. The same goes for ABC7, we grew up watching ABC7,” she stated.
One of the stories that stands out to her during her time reporting news in the Bay Area is the tragic killing of Oscar Grant by BART police.
Since transitioning to the network, Vega has covered a wide range of events, from the papal conclave and the Olympics to the nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan, and every move of the Trump administration, from the former president’s first press conference after winning the 2016 election.
Prior to her coverage of the Trump administration, she traveled more than 239,000 miles and spent over 500 days on the campaign trail, reporting on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential bid, while also anchoring the Saturday edition of “World News Tonight.”
“I can say that the job is insane. I lived out of a suitcase for a year and a half on the campaign trail, and then leaped into D.C. and it was chaotic from day one of the Trump administration until its very last day,” she mentioned.
Surviving on about five hours of sleep a night with her hectic schedule, she believes that a lot of coffee is what makes it work this way, and in fact, it’s one of the things Vega misses the most about the Bay Area apart from her family: Philz Coffee.
She currently resides in D.C. with her husband Ricardo and Boston Terrier Jalisco, but she is frequently in New York anchoring GMA.
While she prepares for the challenges of her role as chief White House correspondent over the next four years, she hopes to inspire the next generation of young journalists.
She acknowledges the assistance and guidance of ABC News legends Diane Sawyer and Martha Raddatz that helped her attain this latest achievement.
She imparts these words of encouragement to the next generation: “Dream big. I mean this with all of my heart, If I can end up here you can end up right here too. And you should,” Vega expressed.
