Bret Hovell

— -- Bret Hovell joined ABC News in 2005 and is currently an off-air reporter based in the Washington bureau.

From September 2007 through November 2008, Hovell covered the presidential campaign of Sen. John McCain, traveling full-time with the candidate. In that role, Hovell provided editorial and production assistance to all ABC News platforms, including "World News with Charles Gibson," "Good Morning America" and "Nightline." He also contributed to ABC News NOW, ABC News Radio and ABCNews.com.

Prior to the McCain assignment, Hovell was a general assignment reporter in Washington, covering stories from Capitol Hill and the White House to the various federal agencies around town. He started at ABC as a production assistant for "World News Now," "World News This Morning" and the ABC News NOW program "Inside the Newsroom."

Hailing from Annapolis, Md., Hovell graduated in 2004 from the University of Pennsylvania with a focus in political science and earned a degree in 2005 from the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University.