David French to the New York Times

The former First Amendment litigator and Dispatch co-founder becomes a columnist at the New York Times.

The New York Times has hired conservative lawyer and commentator David French as a regular opinion columnist, beginning January 30.

French has been a senior editor at The Dispatch, which he helped found, and a contributor to The Atlantic. He was also a writer at National Review Online for several years.

As long-time VC readers likely know (but others may not), French previously served as the President of FIRE (then known as the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education). He also served as an attorney at the American Center for Law and Justice and the Alliance Defending Freedom, working primarily on religious liberty issues. He also served as a JAG in the U.S. Army from 2007 to 2014, and was awarded a Bronze Star.

Although quite conservative, French has been very critical of pro-Trump and nationalist conservatives, particularly those who embrace illiberal political ideas. For instance, here is French's 2019 debate with Sohrab Ahmari on how the political Right should respond to growing illiberalism on the Left.

I look forward to his column.