After two years covering the White House, Martha Brant enlisted to cover the war against Iraq from the Middle East. Based at Central Command in Doha, Qatar, she obtained exclusive reporting for the cover story "The Secret War" (04/21/03) as well as the first post-war interview with Gen. Tommy Franks (05/19/03). She now covers national issues for the magazine and writes a Web column every Wednesday for Newsweek and MSNBC, where she is a frequent guest.

Brant was named White House correspondent in January 2001 after covering George W. Bush's presidential campaign. Her recent work includes several exclusives such as "Where We Get Our Strength" (12/03/01), the first interview with the president and his wife after September 11th. Her profiles of political figures Condoleezza Rice, "A Steely Southerner" (08/06/01), and Barbara Bush, "The Queen Mother" (05/13/02), also broke new ground.

She was national correspondent from January 1999 until December 2000, during which time she covered breaking news such as "Seizing Elián" (5/1/00), the behind-the-scenes account of the early morning raid to snatch Elián Gonzalez. She also covered the Sydney, Australia Olympics, writing features such as "The Grannies of the Games," why women athletes are staying in sports longer (08/14/00).

Brant served abroad as Newsweek's Mexico City bureau chief from December 1996 through December 1998. She wrote several Latin American edition cover stories including "No Place Like Home" (6/15/98) about the tremendous financial and ideological impact of Mexican immigrants on their native country. Other covers from Latin American include "Mayan Chic," (11/3/97), the modern revival of Mayan culture, and "The Importance of Being Ernesto" (5/5/97), the political education of President Ernesto Zedillo.

She served as a Washington correspondent from February 1995 to December 1996, reporting a number of exclusive stories on Hillary Clinton such as the cover "Saint or Sinner?" (01/15/96). She joined Newsweek as a summer intern in June 1993 and was promoted to reporter in 1994. She was part of the Newsweek team reporting on the Oklahoma City bombing.

Brant came to Newsweek after receiving an M.A. in Latin American studies from Stanford University. She worked as a reporter at the Daily Republic in Fairfield, Ca. and the Tico Times in San Jose, Costa Rica. She was an intern at CNN (Spanish) in Los Angeles and the Orange County Register in Santa Ana, Ca. A native of Laguna Beach, Ca., Brant holds a B.A. in history from Yale University and is fluent in Spanish.