[14] [15] After college, Beckel served in the Philippines as a Peace Corps volunteer from 1971 to 1972,[16] and later was a graduate school professor of politics at George Washington University.

[15][19] The following year he was appointed special assistant to the president for legislative affairs, working on ratification of Salt II and Mideast treaties.

[23] In 2002 Beckel managed the campaign of Alan Blinken, the Democratic nominee for United States Senate in Idaho, until he resigned after it became public that he was a witness and victim in an extortion attempt by a prostitute.

[24] From 2005 until the end of 2015, Beckel was a columnist for USA Today, where he wrote articles with friend and political opposite Cal Thomas in the style of "point–counterpoint.

[10] In 2010, he made a brief appearance as himself on the Season 8 premiere of TV series 24 in a mock debate with fellow Fox News Analyst Monica Crowley.

"[36] Beckel, whose last appearance on the show was in February 2015, had been absent while recovering from back surgery; he had also drawn controversy in the last episode prior to his dismissal, when he described himself as an "Islamophobe" in response to the Charlie Hebdo shooting.

[43] In response to Hillary Clinton calling Donald Trump supporters a "basket of deplorables", Beckel responded: "It's the wrong thing to say".

[46] In February 2016, Beckel told CNN about an alleged letter that Trump had written to Diana, Princess of Wales, claiming the information would be damaging.

[54] Beckel was described as having anti-Muslim views when proposing to temporarily prohibit foreign Muslim students from entering the country in response to the Boston bombing.

In 2007, Beckel said that he was involved in an altercation in a Bethesda, Maryland, grocery store parking lot with a man who took issue with his anti–George W. Bush bumper stickers.

[62][63] In late 2015, Beckel published a memoir, I Should Be Dead: My Life Surviving Politics, TV, and Addiction, co-written with John David Mann.

[28] Cal Thomas hosted a book-signing party celebrating publication of Beckel's book, which aired in November 2015 on C-SPAN.

[1] Friends and colleagues paid tribute to Beckel including Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, and Cal Thomas.