Jay Cost

Jay Cost is the Gerald R. Ford nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he focuses on political theory, Congress, and elections. He is also a visiting scholar at Grove City College and a contributing editor at the Washington Examiner. His books include James Madison: America’s First Politician (Basic Books, 2021); The Price of Greatness: Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and the Creation of American Oligarchy (Basic Books, June 2018); and A Republic No More: Big Government and the Rise of Political Corruption (Encounter Books, 2015). He earned a PhD in political science from the University of Chicago and a BA in government and history from the University of Virginia.