Josh Hammer

Joshua Benjamin Hammer (born February 12, 1989) is an American conservative political commentator, attorney, and columnist. He is a syndicated columnist through Creators Syndicate, senior editor-at-large for Newsweek, and host of the The Josh Hammer Show, a Newsweek podcast and syndicated weekly radio show. In 2024, he launched a second daily podcast, America on Trial with Josh Hammer, with The First. As of June 2024, The Josh Hammer Show can be heard on the airwaves of KTTH (Seattle), WIOD (Miami), and KFTK-FM (St. Louis).

Early life and education
Hammer was born in Westchester County, New York, to a Jewish family. He attended what he called a "fairly Reform" synagogue growing up.

Hammer graduated from Duke University in 2011 with a Bachelor of Science degree in economics. After graduating, he worked in antitrust research. He later earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School in 2016. In law school, he was active in the Federalist Society and the Edmund Burke Society. He has also been a fellow with the Claremont Institute and the James Wilson Institute.

Career
After graduating from law school, Hammer worked for sixteen months at the Houston office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. He then clerked for Judge James C. Ho on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. While establishing himself as an editor at The Daily Wire and contributor at TheBlaze, he also worked as of counsel at the First Liberty Institute.

Starting in 2020, Hammer joined Newsweek as opinion editor. He has since assumed the title of senior editor-at-large. He is also the host of The Josh Hammer Show, a Newsweek podcast and syndicated weekly radio show. Also in 2020, he joined Creators Syndicate as a syndicated columnist and became a research fellow at the pro-national conservatism Edmund Burke Foundation, where his scholarship "specializes in the Anglo-American jurisprudential tradition." In 2023, he was named a fellow at the Florida-based Palm Beach Freedom Institute. His recent scholarship includes the article "Common Good Originalism," published in the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, in which he attempts to theorize a "middle-ground position" and fusion of originalism and common good constitutionalism. With the natural law scholar Hadley Arkes, Matthew Peterson, and Garrett Snedeker, Hammer co-authored in 2021 the influential manifesto "A Better Originalism," arguing for "a bolder, more robust jurisprudence rooted in the principles and practices of American constitutionalism." Hammer has also contributed to the University of St. Thomas Law Journal. He hosts America on Trial with Josh Hammer, a legal podcast primarily focused on the 2024 United States presidential election. Hammer remains barred in Texas and serves as senior counsel for both the Article III Project and the Internet Accountability Project.

The Southern Poverty Law Center reported that the Newsweek opinion section under Hammer's tenure had "emerged as a hub for opinion pieces authored by radical right activists", noting its elevation of conspiracy theorists such as Jack Posobiec and Dinesh D'Souza, and its publication of conspiracy theories about COVID-19.

In December 2022, Hammer attended the annual gala for the New York Young Republican Club, along with noted far-right figures such as Posobiec, Steve Bannon, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Peter Brimelow.

Conservative activism
An outspoken conservative, Hammer is a vocal commentator on conservative political, legal, and cultural issues at various publications. Hammer is a contributor to programs on networks such as Fox News, Fox Business, Newsmax, and One America News Network. Hammer is vocal about Jewish- and Zionist-related issues; he has debated Peter Beinart about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Alan Dershowitz about the 2023 Israeli judicial reform dispute.

Hammer was involved with Senator Ted Cruz's 2016 presidential campaign, and in February 2016 was mentioned on national TV during Cruz’s Iowa Caucuses victory speech. More recently, Hammer was invited to the Florida governor’s mansion to meet with Governor Ron DeSantis in January 2022. Hammer currently sits on the board of advisors of groups such as American Moment and the New York Young Republican Club.

In May 2023, Hammer cofounded Jews Against Soros, a coalition of Jews who oppose the political influence of George Soros.

Personal life
Hammer describes growing up in a "very, very assimilated" Jewish environment, but has since become more observant, including keeping kosher.

In December 2022, Hammer proposed to Shir Cohen at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. They were married in December 2023.