Prominent D.C. Height Act detractor (and economics writer) Matt Yglesias is leaving Slate, where he’s worked for the last two years, to join Ezra Klein‘s new media venture, according to a Slate memo.

Klein, the soon-to-be-former Washington Post wunderkind, is ditching the paper and its Wonkblog, which he founded, to start a new project that he’ll lead. The New York Times reports that Klein has spoken with Vox Media, which owns sites like Curbed, Eater, and SB Nation, though nothing has been confirmed.

In addition to Yglesias, Klein is bringing on Wonkblog’s secondary wunderkind Dylan Matthews and the Post’s director of platforms, Melissa Bell.

Klein and Yglesias, who are both D.C.-based, are known to be good friends. They both worked at the American Prospect, and are part of a group of young political bloggers once called, rather cloyingly, the Juicebox Mafia. 

Here’s the top of Slate editor David Plotz‘s letter to staff (via the Huffington Post):

You may recall that our last Moneybox columnist, Annie Lowrey, left Slate to go off and marry Ezra Klein. Well, it’s happening again.

I’m sad to say that Matt is leaving us at the end of February to join Ezra in starting their ambitious new venture. Matt will tell us more about it as the veil lifts, but suffice to say: It’s a great opportunity for him to found and create an exciting new venture, working in partnership with one of his closest friends, who’s also one of the best journalists around.

Photo by yglesias_matt01 via Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0