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Kerry Picket

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Kerry Picket

kpicket@washingtontimes.com

Kerry Picket is a White House correspondent for The Washington Times.
Picket covered the hill at other DC-based outlets including the Daily Caller and the Washington Examiner. Before that, she produced news for Robin Quivers of The Howard Stern Show on SiriusXM, wrote entertainment news for MTV Radio, and worked as a production assistant at MTV.com.
Picket is also a former radio guest host at SiriusXM Patriot 125 and appears frequently as a guest commentator on cable news programs and syndicated radio shows.
She can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.

Articles by Kerry Picket

Recent chaos at airports from government shutdown helps make case for privatizing TSA

The Competitive Enterprise Institute says the recent Department of Homeland Security shutdown that squeezed U.S. airport security personnel proves it is time to privatize all airport screening at U.S. airports.

May 11, 2026

The U.S. Capitol photographed Wednesday, March 11, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib) ** FILE **

FISA spy law snagged in nearly two-decade fight over feds snooping on Americans’ data

The latest short-term extension of a law granting the government crucial spy powers has given privacy advocates in Congress a glimmer of hope that they will finally slam shut "backdoor searches" of Americans' communications.

May 7, 2026

Sen. Louise Lucas celebrates her win for Virginia's 18th District State Senate Democratic nomination at Bide-A-Wee golf course in Portsmouth, Va., on Tuesday, June 20, 2023. (Kendall Warner/The Virginian-Pilot via AP) ** FILE **

FBI raids office of Virginia Democratic senator who championed the state’s redrawn congressional map

The FBI's raid Wednesday on Virginia state Sen. L. Louise Lucas' office and cannabis dispensary business is part of a major corruption probe, sources told The Washington Times.

May 6, 2026

Rep. Ro Khanna attends an event titled "Who Controls the Future of AI: The Oligarchs or the People" at Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (Santiago Mejia/San Francisco Chronicle via AP) ** FILE **

Liberals accuse the Democratic Party of pushing far-left candidates out of the primaries

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's latest list of "Red to Blue" candidates that it is backing is essentially a party endorsement for primaries and favors establishment candidates, drawing howls from the party's liberal wing.

May 5, 2026

A member of the forensics team walks near the scene after a person was shot by law enforcement near the Washington Monument in Washington, Monday, May 4,, 2026. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey Jr.)

Officer-involved shooting near Washington Monument prompts brief WH lockdown, Secret Service says

The White House was briefly locked down Monday afternoon after police shot a man near the Washington Monument, according to the Secret Service.

May 4, 2026

This courtroom sketch depicts Cole Tomas Allen, center, listening as his attorney Eugene Ohm, left, speaks to U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui, Monday, May 4, 2026, in Washington, as Tony Towns, the acting general counsel for the District of Columbia Department of Corrections, listens at right. (Dana Verkouteren via AP) **FILE**

Judge apologizes to alleged Trump would-be assassin for treatment in jail

A federal judge Monday criticized the restrictive treatment in prison of the alleged White House Correspondents Association gunman and apologized to him for being placed in restraints and confinement by jail personnel.

May 4, 2026

California Attorney General Rob Bonta speaks during a news conference in Ceres, Calif., April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Noah Berger) ** FILE **

America First think tank challenges California’s sanctuary policies in federal court

The America First Policy Institute filed a federal lawsuit against California Attorney General Rob Bonta on behalf of the City of El Cajon, challenging the state's sanctuary policy.

May 4, 2026

A Spirit Airlines 319 Airbus approaches Manchester Boston Regional Airport for a landing, Friday, June 2, 2023, in Manchester, N.H. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

Trump gives Spirit Airlines final bailout offer as airline considers shutting down

President Trump confirmed the White House is considering a deal to bail out financially distressed Spirit Airlines.

May 1, 2026

From left, FBI Director Kash Patel, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, arrive and prepare for a House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence hearing to examine worldwide threats, Thursday, March 19, 2026, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner)

Congress passes 45-day extension of federal surveillance law as debate over protections continues

Congress punted its deadline to reauthorize a foreign surveillance law for the second time on Thursday as lawmakers continue to debate privacy protections for Americans' data caught in the spying operations.

April 30, 2026

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., questions U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer as he testifies before the Senate Finance Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Senate extends federal surveillance law for 45 days, sends to House

Senate lawmakers on Thursday approved a short-term extension of a provision in the federal surveillance law to hash out the final terms of its reauthorization.

April 30, 2026

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) ** FILE **

Senate Republicans aim for 45-day FISA extension

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Republicans have urged their Democratic colleagues to agree to extend the expiring federal surveillance law for another 45 days, but one Democrat wants a shorter extension under one condition.

April 30, 2026

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson takes questions at a news conference following a closed-door GOP meeting at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

House passes FISA bill as GOP works through other intraparty feuds

House Republican leaders negotiated their way through fierce intraparty opposition and passed on Wednesday two of the three key pieces of legislation on their agenda for the week, but their struggles are far from over.

April 29, 2026

A semi-automatic Glock pistol is fired at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), National Services Center, March 2, 2023, in Martinsburg, W.Va. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

ATF releases landmark package aimed at bolstering, clarifying Second Amendment rights

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and newly confirmed Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Director Robert Cekada unveiled a package of 34 proposed and final rules Wednesday to scale back and revise Biden-era gun regulations.

April 29, 2026

The U.S. Capitol dome is seen, Monday, July 9, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) ** FILE **

Republicans at an impasse to advance FISA reauthorization before Thursday deadline

Congressional Republicans delayed key procedural votes Tuesday to advance an extension of the foreign surveillance law that expires Thursday.

April 28, 2026

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., speaks about Virginia's redistricting vote as Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., right, looks on, at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

Hakeem Jeffries doubles down on call for ‘maximum warfare’ on Republicans

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he stood by his remarks about engaging in "maximum warfare" with Republicans when it came to the battle over congressional redistricting.

April 27, 2026

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins speaks during an anti-abortion rally on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) ** FILE **

Family Research Council helping feds take on Southern Poverty Law Center

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said his organization is assisting the FBI's investigation of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which has been indicted for funding hate groups it claimed to fight.

April 27, 2026

U.S. Secret Service agents respond near President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump during the White House Correspondents Dinner, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

‘Quite an evening’: Trump ready for round two after gunshots force dinner cancellation

President Trump said "let the show go on," but listened to the Secret Service who abruptly whisked him away from the White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington after a shooter fired off half a dozen rounds outside the ballroom.

April 25, 2026

Secret service agents respond during the White House Correspondents Dinner, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Shots fired at White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Trump rushed from the stage

Shots were fired at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington on Saturday night, forcing guests to duck under tables in the Washington Hilton ballroom.

April 25, 2026

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., center, speaks while House Majority Whip Tom Emmer R-Minn., right, and House Republican Conference Chair Lisa McClain, R-Mich., left, listen during a news conference on Capitol Hill, Friday, March 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib) **FILE**

Civil liberties groups slam Johnson’s spy law rewrite as a ‘three-year blank check’ for the FBI

House Speaker Mike Johnson's new proposal to update laws for government spying got a big thumbs-down from civil liberties advocates who say it does not do enough to protect Americans' privacy rights.

April 24, 2026

A semi-automatic Glock pistol is fired at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), National Services Center, March 2, 2023, in Martinsburg, W.Va. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) **FILE**

D.C. court renews magazine ban, plans to rehear case

The District of Columbia Court of Appeals on Thursday restored a city prohibition on gun magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds until a rehearing of the case.

April 24, 2026