The 2018 POWER 100

ANATOMY OF A STATE DINNER

The Trumps Welcome the Macrons

BY ROLAND FLAMINI

State dinners are the most important

social event hosted at the White House and an occasion to show off American hospitality at the highest level. The main ingredients are a visiting head of state and his entourage, their American opposites, an additional sprinkling of American and foreign notables, toasts (spoken, not eaten), and, of course, superb food and drink. Within its timehonored protocols every presidential couple adds their individual flavor.

The Trumps’ first state dinner in April in honor of President Emmanuel Macron of France and his wife Brigitte was a surprisingly low key affair given Trump’s tendency towards flamboyance. But the White House went to some lengths to emphasize that the event had been organized by first lady Melania Trump and her personal staff, and it seems to fit her personality to have made a cautious start.

Beginning with the numbers: The dinner was one of the smallest in recent years. The White House invited 123 guests. The Obama dinner for President Francois Hollande four years ago was a huge affair with a guest list of 280; and included among them Hollande’s special adviser – none other than Emmanuel Macron.

If the evening had a flavor of déjà vu for the visiting French president, it was more so for another prominent guest — Christine Lagarde. The managing director of the International Monetary Fund, who hails from France and is a former French government minister, now counts being a guest at state dinners for three of her countrymen – Presidents Macron, Hollande, and Nicolas Sarkozy.

The Trumps’ dinner scored a first in at least one respect. As long as anyone can remember,

presidents have always invited a sprinkling of the White House press corps and other media guests to the event, but not this time. Given Donald Trump’s open contempt for the mainstream media, their exclusion was hardly surprising. True, media mogul and Trump supporter Rupert Murdoch was there, but he hardly qualifies as working press.

Past state dinners have also been occasions to demonstrate political bi-partisanship, but not this time. No Democrats from either the Senate or House were invited.

Gone too were the pop celebrities of the Obama era, like Beyonce, Gwen Stefani, and Stephen Colbert, who was seated next to Michelle Obama at the Hollande dinner. Instead, guests were entertained by performers from the Washington National Opera.

One surprising absence among White House senior staffers was Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president, although Chief-of Staff Gen. John Kelly was there as were Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner. Other Washington notables included David Rubenstein, cofounder of the Carlyle Group, megaphilanthropist and perennial president of such galactic institutions as the Smithsonian and the Kennedy Center. Stuart Holliday, president and CEO of Meridian International, and his wife Gwen made the cut as did Sarah Coulson and Douglas Bradburn, respectively regent of the Mount Vernon Ladies Association, and

president of Mount Vernon. Also spotted: Marillyn Hewson, CEO of Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin; Ronna McDaniel, chair of the Republican National Committee; and Mary Morton, curator of French paintings at the National Gallery of Art.

In between courses there was the traditional exchange of verbal genuflections, ending with each leader proposing a toast to the other, and on this occasion the speeches couldn’t have been more different. Trump quoted Victor Hugo and Charles de Gaulle and recalled the sacrifice of American and French lives in shared conflicts from the American Revolution through World War II and beyond.

In the run-up of the presidential visit, the French had pushed back against the “bestbuddy” talk coming out of Washington. And Macron used his remarks to put his relationship with Trump in perspective. Yes, he said, “many comment on our friendship,” but it serves a broader purpose of maintaining the bi-lateral dialogue, and what Macron called “the statute of universality” – stability and universal values, serving “both our countries and the rest of the world.”

“I got to know you, you got to know me,” he noted. “We both know that neither of us easily changes his mind. But we will work together, and we have this ability to listen to one another.” It sounded even less chummy in French.

President Donald Trump has revolutionized the use of media by a sitting president, defending his often controversial actions and policy initiatives via phone calls and a storm of tweets at anytime of day or night. The Commander-in-Chief sits at the center of power in Washington and the individuals featured in the following pages exert tremendous influence in the corridors of power.

Power and influence exist in many forms, but in Washington

these days they often boil down to the ability to sway, the wisdom to absorb and/or the skill to successfully push against different aspects of the whirlwind generated by an unpredictable president and an administration whose members are in or out depending on the day.

Our annual list is generally limited to Washingtonians who neither hold elected office nor draw a government salary. This year, we added a handful of current and former, mostly White House, denizens whose altered roles reflect the unique circumstances of the moment. We also opened up the list to include those outside the beltway to reflect the growing influence of money on power.

Trump notwithstanding, there are many people in Washington who make a difference while getting on with their lives, their businesses and their professions: Artists, business owners, philanthropists, a clergyman, a classical music critic who has the power to torpedo a million-dollar opera production with a single review and a leading food critic whose critiques can be counted

upon to fill or empty a restaurant practically overnight.

Power can mean money, which can help advance causes and create new enterprises. But power shifts like sand on a beach. Journalists are denigrated by President Donald Trump as the inventors of fake news, but his presidency has boosted the influence of leading media figures, given a new lease on life to newspapers and spiked television news ratings.

Because he came into office as an agent of change, many professional and business communities find themselves making common cause to fight, or at least moderate new administration measures. Trump’s efforts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare,” mobilized battalions of opposition from the health sector. Where groups share such a common objective their key players have been grouped together.

Yes, it’s a subjective list, even a quirky one in places. Because Washington is not hermetically sealed off from the rest of the world, some outside influencers have also been placed on the list. Vladimir Putin is not a Georgetown resident, but with Moscow’s fingerprints all over the 2016 election, he might as well be. >>

GOVERNMENT

Michael Pence

Vice President of the United States There are sphinxes in Egypt with more facial mobility than Mike Pence as he waits in the wings for a Trump implosion some people see as inevitable before the end of the presidential term. Pence’s reserved manner is in sharp contrast to Trump’s brash histrionics, and his strong religious conservatism is at the heart of his political record in the House and as governor. So, if he steps into the White House for any reason, including the presumption that he will want to run following the Trump years, the big change will be in style rather than political substance. For the moment, though, Dick Cheney he ain’t.

Gen. James Mattis Secretary of Defense Gen. John Kelly Chief-of- Staff, The White House Ironically, the retired U.S. Marine general who was known in the military as “Mad Dog Mattis” is now seen as the straightest-shooting member of the Trump administration. When he was appointed to head the Pentagon, the New York Times rightly predicted that he would be “the voice of reason.” As a military commander he was known for his forceful approach to military tactics, his good judgment and his colorful speech. But the saber rattling now comes from the Oval Office not the Pentagon, where Mattis has yet to make a misstep. Trump brought in former Marine Corps General John Kelly to restore order and discipline to the White House but typically was then reluctant to accept his reforms and restrictions. Since the departure of staff secretary Rob Porter following accusations of spousal

abuse, and Kelly’s removal of Jared Kushner’s top security clearance, the chief of staff’s authority may have waned.

Michael Pompeo Secretary of State John Bolton National Security Advisor, The White House The recent switch from Gen. H.R. McMaster to John Bolton as head the NSA, and Trump’s nomination of Mike Pompeo to succeed Rex Tillerson as secretary of state represent a seismic – and many say worrisome – change in the conduct of Trump’s foreign policy at a time when the nation faces more than one potentially explosive situation. Bolton, a neoconservative and former U.S. representative to the United Nations, is notorious for his aggressive approach. New York Times political columnist Peter Baker’s recent description of him as “combative, relentless and proudly impolitic” is almost a compliment compared to what other opponents say about him. R. Nicholas Burns, a former senior State Department diplomat, calls Bolton “a practitioner of sledgehammer diplomacy.” As a CNN commentator, Bolton argued in favor of a strike against North Korea. Unlike Tillerson, Pompeo is on Trump’s wavelength when it comes to issues such as the Iran nuclear agreement and the Paris Climate Accord. Unusually for a director of the CIA, Pompeo personally conducted Trump’s daily intelligence briefing, reportedly tailoring it to the president’s short attention span and reputed limitations in coping with complex issues. At his confirmation hearings Pompeo protested that he was not a hawk, but his president is, and an unpredictable one. And the question is, would either man have the will or the inclination to restrain him?

Wilbur Ross

Secretary of Commerce Trump regards the 80-year-old Wall Street billionaire as his savior because in 1999 Ross, then head of Rothschild Inc.’s bankruptcy

ALL�IN�THE�FAMILY� Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump Presidential Advisors For several months, it was a case of the son-in-law also rises. Even stripped of the intelligence access needed to work on his assigned areas and knee deep in a financial investigation, Kushner’s future as a dollara-year official presidential advisor appears secure. Kushner and his wife Ivanka continue to maintain strong ties to many powerful individuals across the globe including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (an old family friend and house guest of the Kushners), the United Arab Emirates Ambassador to the U.S. Yousef Al Otaiba (through Trump confidante Thomas Barrack), Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, as well as a host of Russian oligarchs, including Roman Abramovich and Lev Leviev, who together with Kushner are part of the small but powerful international orthodox Hasidic “Chabad movement.” Notably, Abramovich and Leviev (who are also said to be two of Putin’s closest confidants) helped arrange for Rabi Berel Lazar of Chabad to become the chief Rabbi of Russia, aka “Putin’s Rabbi.” According to Politico, in the early 2000s Donald “Trump would seek out Russian projects and capital by joining forces with a partnership called Bayrock-Sapir, led by Soviet émigrés Tevfik Arif, Felix Sater and Tamir Sapir – who maintain close ties to Chabad.” A number of other wellknown oligarchs are also members of Chabad with Kushner including Len Blavatnik and Alexander Mashkevitch (see Jones Day entry). As for Ivanka, it is assumed she continues to have the president’s ear, and he trusts her like no one else. She has represented the country on his behalf in travels around the world, including at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic games.

THE�INVESTIGATORS�

Robert Mueller Special Counsel Every night before he goes to sleep, Donald Trump checks under his bed to see if Robert Swan Mueller is hiding there – which, metaphorically, he is. But Mueller became a boogeyman of Trump’s own making, when he sacked James Comey. As Mueller, a lifelong Republican, peels away the layers of Russia’s involvement in the 2016 campaign, tension grows in the White House. Mueller’s investigation has leaked very little, so people will only know the details when his findings are made public. As of this writing, however, Mueller has brought over 100 criminal charges against 19 people, including former Trump National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and former campaign manager Paul Manafort. In April, the FBI raided the offices of Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen upon the referral of Mueller, a move that so infuriated the President that he has put on hold the possibility of sitting down for an interview with the special counsel. Trump also hired former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani to help bring an end to the Russia probe, but how he would do that is unclear. And the question arises weekly: Could the president fire the special counsel?

division, brokered a deal that saved Trump’s failing Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City. They remained friends, especially after 2000, when Ross left Rothschild and went into private equity as W. L. Ross & Co. As a so-called “vulture capitalist,” Ross’s interest focused mainly on coal mines and iron works, the industries Trump wants to resuscitate. Ross now spearheads Trump’s combative trade policies, notably his determination to either scrap or re-negotiate what he sees as trade agreements unfavorable to the U.S. and to impose steel and aluminum tariffs that would tax countries at 25 percent and 10 percent respectively. The threatened hikes have resulted in push back from Europe and China as well as warnings of a trade war from both sides of the Atlantic. Ross and his wife Hilary Geary Ross quickly made themselves a fixture in Washington’s social scene, hosting guests from both sides of the aisle at their artfilled Massachusetts Avenue Heights home.

James Comey

Former FBI Director There’s a Biblical touch to the narrative that Donald Trump embraced James Comey, and then fired him. By getting rid of the FBI director, Trump set in motion a sequence of dramatic events that continue to roil the White House as they edge towards a yet unknown conclusion. And yet, like Trump, Comey also waits for Mueller’s final verdict of some of his more controversial actions. In April, Comey released his muchanticipated tell-all book,“A Higher Loyalty,” which offers a scathing assessment of his former boss. He held no punches as he made the rounds on television news programs, calling Trump “morally unfit” to be president in an interview with ABC. Comey’s high profile appearances led the Commander in Chief to fire off a number of tweets in which he contradicted himself about why he had terminated Comey, this time saying he “was not fired because of the phony Russia investigation,” when he had previously told a reporter that the Russia investigation played a big role in his decision to fire the FBI director. Confused yet?

Stephen Miller

Senior Policy Advisor, The White House Miller is another of the rapidly dwindling original group of Trump’s campaign menagerie. With Bannon gone, the fiery

crowd warmer of campaign days has acquired more power as the chief White House ideologue and guardian of the populist promises that got Trump elected. Miller established his combative style with the immigration executive order in February 2017, within less than a month of Trump’s arrival in the White House. In his famous on-air shouting match with CNN’s Jake Tapper he displayed the classic traits of a faithful apparatchik. But most striking was his authoritarian tone on CBS’ “Face the Nation”: “The powers of the President to protect our country are very substantial and will not be questioned,” he said in regard to Trump’s travel ban and immigration policies.

Kellyanne Conway Counselor to the President Sarah Huckabee Sanders Press Secretary, The White House Conway, a former pollster who successfully managed the Trump campaign in its final days, becoming the first female campaign manager to win a presidential election, is one of the few survivors of the original

senior White House group. She has the ear of the president and advises him on both policy and politics. Her no-holds-barred interviews on television – from her use of the term “alternative facts” on NBC after the Inauguration to more recently clashing with CNN’s Dana Bash after the journalist asked Conway about her husband’s seemingly critical tweets about the President – has earned her continued admiration from Trump. At the White House, she is a jack of all trades: She was appointed “opioid czar” by the president to help combat the nation’s substance abuse crisis, and is essentiallly running the communications shop, which has been leaderless since the departure of Hope Hicks. Sanders is the unwavering front woman for the administration, who faces the press each day on national television, defending the president, reinforcing his views and taking the “arrows” slung by the press corps. As a result, she is trusted and well-liked by the Commander in Chief. Still, in her hands the White House daily briefing often loses its relevance as an accurate account of the president’s daily activities, as journalists try to sort out the

Brad Parscale

Campaign Manager, Trump 2020 The digital strategist of Trump’s successful election campaign returns to run the president’s second bid. Parscale’s computer based operation using Facebook and Twitter is widely regarded as the main component of Trump’s victory and his appointment reflects the Trump camp’s hope that the earlier triumph can be repeated.

Corey Lewandowski

Political Operative He was in, then he was out and now he could be in again. Lewandowski, President Trump’s combative former campaign manager, left the Trump team in

June 2016 after news that he had manhandled a protester and a journalist, and after reportedly butting heads with then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort. Insiders say he never stopped being a confidante to the president and rumors are now circulating that he could be in line to replace current White House Chief of Staff John Kelly. On the night of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, as Trump held his counterprogramming rally in Michigan, Lewandowski appeared on stage with the President, who praised him for not being “a patsy” on cable news and for helping him win the election. Curt Mills, a reporter for The American Conservative, wrote: “Those familiar with Lewandowski say that Trump summoning him was evocative of when he called onstage Reince Priebus, who would become chief of staff, during election night in 2016.”

Barack Obama

Former President of the United States Not since Herbert Hoover has a former president actually made Washington, D.C. his home. The Obamas bought a house in Kalorama and will remain there at least until their younger daughter Sasha finishes high school. Obama has tweeted in defense of the “Dreamers,” young illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. by their parents, whose future in this country is now in jeopardy under Trump. But he has otherwise said little in public despite Trump’s determined attempts to dismantle his legacy. And as an example of the former president’s continued global reach and influence, Obama beat Trump at own game: Twitter. The current Tweeter-in-chief who takes to the social media platform daily, didn’t even make the top 10 of Twitter’s most retweeted missives of 2017, while Obama’s tweets comprised three of the them. One – his tweet in the wake of the Charlottesville protests – became the most liked tweet in history.

GOVERNMENT�WATCHDOGS� Speaking truth to power Norman Eisen Chairman, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) “Only 16 percent of what Trump says is true, or mostly true,” says Eisen, a former Obama White House attorney. ”We’ve never had a president like this.” With the enormous personal wealth of the presidential family raising questions of divestiture, and the President making pronouncements that sometimes baffle even his own staff, it’s open season for a group of nonprofits like CREW whose mission is to keep the government and its leaders honest. Three of the more prominent ones are included here. Eisen pulls no punches in his comments on the president. “Of course Trump’s nervous,” he says of the Mueller investigation. “They’re all nervous. The president of the United States has tremendous exposure. He’s facing a trap. If he tells the truth he may prove corrupt intent, and expose himself to the consequences. If he lies, he’s liable under false statement liability, so it’s a terrible situation.”

Sheila Krumholz

Executive Director, Center for Responsive Politics The Center focuses on tracking money in U.S. politics, and its impact on the elections and public policy. Following the Parkland, Fla. high school shooting and the resulting debate on gun control

legislation, for example, the Center was ready with up-to-date numbers showing how the gun lobby maintains its grip on law makers through campaign contributions, mainly to Republicans, but also to a few Democrats. In particular, the group called out Florida Senator and former presidential candidate Marco Rubio for receiving more than $3.3 million in donations from the National Rifle Association. It also found that in 2017, the NRA and related groups poured more than $10 million into campaign coffers ($820,375 to GOP Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell), compared to a fourth of that amount by the gun control lobby.

Robert Weissman

President, Public Citizen The Washington-based nonprofit group keeps tabs on government transparency and corporate influence on the administration’s policy making. It has raised questions about Trump’s failure to follow what his predecessors have done to divest themselves of their business interests while in office. A year into the Trump administration, Public Citizen published a list of groups and organizations that in 2017 held events or booked rooms in Trump’s Washington hotel and other Trump properties. The list enumerates 35 political candidates, 16 interest groups, four charities, four foreign governments, three religious groups, two individual companies and a college football team.

LEGAL EAGLES

Stephen Brogan

Managing Partner, Jones DayWith at least 13 of its lawyers positioned strategically throughout the Trump administration, including Don McGahn, the firm has not been coy about its ties to Trump and exercises immense, unprecedented power in Washington. McGahn who served as counsel to the 2016 campaign and then the transition team has also led the highly successful effort to pack the U.S. courts with fellow conservative Federalist Society judges and has been at the center of a continuous stream of legal actions in connection with the Mueller investigation, immigration, and other issues. A Jones Day advertisement boasts of insights on the new administration with a photo of the White House to hammer home the point.

Other Jones Day attorneys who have or currently hold key administration positions include: Noel Francisco: solicitor general; William McGinley, deputy assistant to the president and Cabinet secretary; James Burnham, senior associate counsel to the president; Annie Donaldson, special counsel to the president, chief of staff to the White House counsel; Stephen Vaden, special assistant to the secretary of agriculture; Blake Delaplane, special assistant to the White House Counsel; John Gore, deputy assistant attorney general for civil rights; Michael Murray, counsel to the deputy attorney General; James Uthmeier, special advisor to secretary of commerce; Greg Katsas, deputy counsel to the president; David Morrell, associate counsel to the president; and Kaytlin Roholt, special counsel to the Senate Judiciary Commission.

Jones Day is famously governed - unlike any other major international law firm - with

control resting in the hands of just one man, Steve Brogan. The power Brogan exercises over Jones Day’s 2,500 attorneys located in 44 global offices has been described as autocratic and absolute.

Unusually, on April 16, 2016, The White House Counsel’s Office, issued a blanket ethics waiver allowing White House Counsel McGahn and other former Jones Day attorneys working in the White House to participate in communications and meetings with Jones Day.

It is well known that the law firm of Jones Day represents President Trump, the Trump 2016 and 2020 Presidential Campaign Committees, Trump for America, Inc. (aka The 2016 Trump Transition Team) and certain Trump related political action committees as well as the Republican National Committee, The National Rifle Association, Citizens United, Judicial Watch, Diebold, RenTech (owned by Robert Mercer), and certain interests of Wilber Ross. According to Federal Election Commission filings, during the period from March 13, 2017 through the end of the year Trump’s campaign has been publicly reported to have paid more than $2.3 million to Jones Day.

What is less known is Jones Day’s global reach, which includes a Moscow office, run from Washington by Vladimir Lechtman. The firm’s oligarch practice has included representing companies owned and controlled by a group of the former Soviet Union’s most wealthy and powerful oligarchs, some of whom appear to be at the center of the U.S. election controversy now being investigated -- all of whom are alleged to owe their immense wealth and influence -- at least in part -- to relationships with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Although it is unclear whether Jones Day represents the oligarchs themselves or merely the companies holding their assets, according to Jones Day and their clients’ disclosures, these oligarch controlled companies include but are not limited to the following (noted along with these individuals approximate net worth): Alfa Bank, TNK and LetterOne

(Petr Aven, $4.6 billion, German Kahn, $9.3 billion, Alexey Kuzmichev, $7.2 billion and Mikhail M. Fridman, $14.4 billion); Access Industries (Leonard Blavatnik, $19 billion); Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (Alexander Mashkevitch, $1.91 billion, Patokh Chodiev, $2 billion and Alijan Ibragimov, $2.3 billion); Basic Element (Oleg Deripaska, $5.1 billion); Sapir Organization, 100 Church Street development (Sapir family, $2 billion); Rosneft (Igor Sechin, $2 billion); Roust Corp (Roustam Tariko, Russian Standard Bank and Russian Standard Vodka, $1 billion) and Renova Group (Viktor Vekselberg, $12.4 billion). Notably Victor Veksleberg, Oleg Derapska and Igor Sechin have been placed on the U.S. Sanctions List. The founders of the Alfa Group entities and Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation have remained off of the sanctions list. Jones Day has also represented Gazprom Export, a branch of the Russian state-owned energy giant.

A former Jones Day attorney, Solicitor General Noel Francisco, is also now next in line, after Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein, to oversee the Mueller investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 election given the vacancy created by the departure of Rachel Brand. In February, Brand, who was next in the line in succession behind Rosenstein, announced she was stepping down as associate attorney general after only nine months on the job. In a speech before the Federalist Society in February she said she resigned because she “unexpectedly” received an offer she could not refuse to become the global governance director at Walmart. Coincidentally, Jones Day generated millions of dollars advising Walmart on an investigation regarding violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) after which the CEO was replaced by Doug McMillon to whom Brand will now report. The reason Francisco is next in line behind Rosenstein is because the President has not appointed her replacement, who in any event would need to be confirmed by the Senate.

Jamie Gorelick

Partner, WilmerHale When Gorelick, a long-time, ardent, high level Clinton devotee (deputy attorney general to be exact), agreed to help Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner navigate divestiture rules and conflict of interest and nepotism concerns, it seemed to many that she had taken bipartisanship too far. In interviews, Gorelick waffled on about how she was more likely to guide her clients to an ethical position over an attorney of the same political persuasion. The validity of her conclusion– that Ivanka becoming a White House staffer made her obligation to submit to ethics rules voluntary– was widely challenged. As for Kushner, his controversial business ties continue to raise questions.

Kim Koopersmith

Chairman, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld 2017 was a good year for lawyers, and an exceptional one for Akin Gump, one of the District’s leading firms. It’s gross revenue was $1.039 billion, a 6.1 percent increase over the previous year, $38.7 million of it coming from lobbying because the firm’s full client list included companies tied to the big controversial issues of the day – health and tax reform.

Jonathan Talisman

Founding Partner, Capitol Tax Partners For years, in his past roles in government and before that on the Hill, Talisman was a strong advocate of reforming the country’s cumbersome tax laws. His company was in the middle of the action on behalf of a long list of blue chip clients in 2017 when talk of tax reform changed into often chaotic action pushed by Donald Trump. But that’s hardly the end of the story: the flawed legislation cobbled together by the Republican-dominated House and Senate needs extensive repair – promising even more business for Capitol Tax Partners and organizations like it.

INTERNATIONAL MONEY

Jim Yong Kim

President, World Bank Jim Yong Kim, a U.S.-born Korean physician and anthropologist, was an antipoverty activist before his World Bank appointment. He has committed the bank to eradicating extreme world poverty, a departure from its traditional role of financing major infrastructure projects. A strong environmentalist, Kim announced last year that the bank would no longer finance upstream oil and gas projects. Trump is openly skeptical of the World Bank’s change of direction and poverty targets, but then so are many World Bank economists and staffers. Not surprisingly, there is some question whether the U.S. will continue to meet its obligations to the bank. A year ago, the Trump administration stopped its contribution to the IDB, which finances development projects in Latin America.

Luis Alberto Moreno

President, Inter-American Development Bank Moreno is a former Colombian ambassador to Washington who sold the administration on Plan Colombia, a U.S.-financed strategy to fight the Colombian drug cartels. He learned of the U.S. cutoff decision while meeting the IDB board in Paraguay. But not all Latin American countries are net beneficiaries of the IDB these days, and Moreno says he had made up the shortfall in commitments by the end of the meeting.

Christine Lagarde Managing Director, International Monetary Fund Following Trump’s election all three Washington-based international financial institutions are having to adjust to less support from their biggest shareholder, the U.S. government. Lagarde, a former French finance minister with a high profile in the global financial world, is in her second four-year term at the head of the IMF. She was at the forefront of easing the debt crisis in the European Union, in particular the big bail- out of Greece. But Trump’s protectionist policies, which are now beginning to take specific shape run counter to all that the IMF, a lender of first response stands for, so a meeting of the minds is hardly likely.

OUTSIDE INFLUENCERS

ARABS Salem Al-Sabah Ambassador of Kuwait Rima Al-Sabah Goodwill Ambassador, U.N. High Commission for Refugees It was hardly surprising that President Trump’s first – and, so far, only – social visit to a foreign embassy would be to attend an event hosted by the Al-Sabahs. The affable ambassador, who has been at his post since 2001, has proven his longevity across both sides of the aisle. Rima Al-Sabah, a former journalist and goodwill ambassador for the U.N. Refugee Agency, is without question a leading Washington hostess. Further solidifying their ties to the man in the White House, the Embassy of Kuwait has held its national day celebration at the Trump Hotel in Washington for two years running.

Prince Mohammed bin Salman Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Prince Khalid bin Salman Ambassador of Saudi Arabia President Trump is hardly an expert in the labyrinthine complexity of Middle Eastern affairs, but the Saudi kingdom won him over with two issues he could understand: opposition to Iran and the prospect of a huge arms sale. So, the powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (known as MBS), the de facto ruler, became Trump’s and his son-in-law Jared Kushner’s BFF, with the enthusiastic backing of the Emirates. As part of his campaign to promote his kingdom’s new image and attract Western investments, the Saudi prince visited the U.S. in March, where he trod on all the red carpet that money could rent, and where his American hosts avoided such

embarrassing topics as his incarceration of scores of rival princes and rich Saudis for huge ransoms; the forced resignation of the Lebanese prime minister; the Saudi-orchestrated break with, and blockade of, neighboring Qatar; nor the billions of dollars Saudi nationals have been pouring into exporting extreme Wahhabi Islam around the world, including in Pakistan, Indonesia and Africa. The focus was on women being allowed to drive and to attend soccer games – promising steps towards gender equality, but not compensation for a poor human rights record and a botched and bloody Saudi air offensive in Yemen which has cost 100,000 Yemini lives, with at least a million more displaced. The Prince’s itinerary took him to Hollywood where he expressed his intention to re-open movie houses, closed 20 years ago when fundamentalist Wahhabism took hold in the kingdom. This is not reform as we know it, but in Saudi Arabia change can only come from the top.

Muhammed bin Zayed Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Yousef Al Otaiba Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates Ambassador Al Otaiba enjoys considerable access in Washington in no small measure because of his charismatic personality, understanding of the U.S. system and the generous and perhaps strategic support he provides to charities, colleges and DC think tanks (such as the Center for American Progress and the Middle East Institute). The tiny Persian Gulf state (with a population of 10 million, of which only one million are citizens) also exerts influence as the world’s third largest arms purchaser. For years, this huge, high-profile largesse was in sharp contrast to the more veiled activities of the Saudi embassy. Al Otaiba has entrée to the top levels of society, government, and media. To what extent has spreading the wealth paid off? That depends on whom you talk to. You don’t hear much about the role of UAE Mirage fighters in the devastating Saudiled Yemen campaign or its heavy use of mercenaries to make up for their small armed forces. But soon the Saudis were unloosing their own pockets to compete. Did Arab money

purchase loyalty and influence, or did it merely amplify a preexisting pro-Arab consensus? Either way, as reported by Politico, “the dramatic and sudden effort to isolate Qatar, like the fateful intervention before it in Yemen, sprang from the shared vision of two princes,” Muhammed bin Zayed (“MBZ”), the 56-yearold crown prince of Abu Dhabi and the impulsive 31-year-old Saudi Crown Prince who “seems to accept MBZ’s counseling but probably would be horrified of the perception that he may be the junior partner.” Regardless, both men are the up-and-coming powers behind their respective countries’ thrones, quite influential in Trumpworld, and the architects of the hyper-aggressive posture taken in Yemen and across the Middle East. Back in Washington, the ambassador and his fashionable wife Abeer have cultivated friendships with many in the media such as Norah O’Donnell and Bret and Amy Baier, with whom they have worked closely to raise tens of millions of dollars for Children’s National Medical Center.

Sheikh Tamin bin Hamad Al-Thani Emir of Qatar Meshal bin Hamad Al-Thani Ambassador of Qatar In 2017, Trump supported a Saudiengineered attempt to isolate Qatar, backing an anti-Qatar embargo by Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E., and all but accused the Qataris of fomenting terror. Eight months later, the grown-ups in the Trump administration restored some reality to U.S. policy in the Persian Gulf, pointing out that Qatar is host to thousands of U.S. troops on the biggest American military base in the region. In February, the Qatari foreign and defense ministers visited Washington, where they were feted with a lavish reception. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis praised Qatar’s “outstanding support of America’s present and continuing commitment to regional security,” and former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called the super-wealthy desert emirate a “strong partner and longtime friend.” Since then, Trump has welcomed the Emir at the White House and pushed for an agreement to the dispute.

RUSSIANS Vladimir Putin President of the Russian Federation Yevgeny Prigozhin Owner, Concord Management & Consulting Aleksandra Yuryevna Krylova Associate, Internet Research Agency

Among Trump’s divagations and tergiversations the most puzzling has been his reluctance to challenge Project Laktha, Russia’s proven interference in the 2016 election. Yet Russia looms larger in Washington than at any time since the Cold War, and sometimes it seems as though Vladimir Putin has taken up residence in Chevy Chase. The Mueller investigation has shown that virtually every key member of the Trump campaign had been approached by the Russians at one time or another; Trump’s own intelligence services say the U.S. can expect more of the same intrusions in the 2018 midterms. Yet tougher sanctions enacted by Congress languish in the Oval Office awaiting the presidential green light to be put into effect. And while Washington dithers, Putin is busy in Syria, Ukraine and Crimea, and meddling in U.S. and European elections. The Putin factor may well be waiting for Mueller to detonate it into a full crisis. In February, a Federal grand jury indicted 13 Russians in connection with the Mueller investigation. They included the oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, known as “Putin’s Cook” because he is said to be Putin’s unofficial fixer on such projects as financing the troll factory – the Internet Research Agency – that spearheaded Project Laktha. Also on the list is Aleksandra Yuryevna, an alleged leading member of the troll factory. But in the meantime it remains an ominous subtext to developments in Washington – a reminder of the Edwardian satirist Edward Lear’s poem. “As I was going up the stair,/ I met a man who wasn’t there./ He wasn’t there again today,/Oh how I wish he’d go away.”

CHINESE Xi Jinping President of the People’s Republic of China Liu He Vice Premier, People’s Republic of China Cui Tiankai Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China

Even as Trump’s chief economic adviser, Gary Cohn was resigning over new U.S. tariffs, his Chinese counterpart Liu He, long a close collaborator of President Jinping, was visiting Washington in an attempt to ease the tensions between the two countries. Trump, believes he can manage the bilateral relationship through his personal rapport with Jinping, who just became a ruler with no set term, and has introduced $50 billion worth of new tariffs threatening another $100 billion on a raft of imported goods from China and other penalties for theft of trade secrets (valued at $300 billion). This is in addition to earlier protective tariffs on steel, aluminum, washing machines and solar panels. Trump has also introduced new restrictions on Chinese investment in the U.S. Experts worry that the U.S. moves could ignite a trade war which could lead to a recession, and sour Trump’s relations with Jinping, which is concerning since China is the number one buyer of U.S. Treasuries, and could sour China’s appetite for Boeing aircraft, as exploding wealth in the country is expected to yield $1 trillion in new aircraft purchases over the next decade. Also worthy of note: China’s 8.1 percent increase in defense spending this year. Transmitting Beijing’s line to Washington is Cui Tiankai, who assumed the post of ambassador in 2011 and is no stranger to the city, having pursued his postgraduate degree here. After tariffs were announced in April, Tiankai told CNBC: “We will see how much the U.S. measures will hurt our economy and we will fight back accordingly.”

ISRAELIS� Benjamin Netanyahu Prime Minister of Israel When Bibi Netanyahu visited President Trump in early March, they dispensed with the traditional joint press conference, thus avoiding awkward questions. Trump had a smorgasbord of issues on which he preferred not to take reporters’ questions. Netanyahu is entangled in a series of corruption scandals in Israel and was hanging on to the premiership by a thread. In Washington, he received his usual standing ovation at the annual AIPAC conference, but at home Israeli police said they have enough evidence to indict him on bribery, fraud and breach of trust in two cases. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, with whom Netanyahu has stayed in New York on past visits, has been stripped of his top security clearance, which experts say will hurt his assigned task of planning the White House’s new Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. What deal? The Israeli paper Ha’aretz reported that the Trump-Netanyahu meeting “reflected the rapid death of the peace-deal – before it was even born.” And although the White House says it’s almost complete, Netanyahu admitted to Israeli reporters, “We didn’t see a draft of their peace plan and I can’t say in their name what there is or isn’t [in it].”

OTHERS Charles Koch Chairman and CEO, Koch Industries David Koch Executive Vice President, Koch Industries The billionaire libertarian Koch brothers are among the country’s richest supporters of conservative politicians and causes. Through their network of District-based foundations, they recently committed $400 million to support GOP candidates in the 2018 midterms. They did not support Trump in 2016 and continue to distance themselves from his administration on key

Sheldon Adelson CEO, Las Vegas Sands; Owner, Israeli daily newspaper Hayom “All the politicians money can buy” is a cynical comment on the American political system that often comes uncomfortably (or comfortably, depending on one’s point of view) close to the truth. Casino billionaire and philanthropist Sheldon Adelson was the largest single donor to the Trump campaign. When he led the charge for U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state, Trump obliged. Adelson, with others, was also

behind the White House decision to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem from its present location in Tel Aviv. Those others – American Jewish groups and Evangelical Christians - had been pushing for recognition of Jerusalem and the embassy move for decades without success. With Trump, the price was clearly right. Adelson has also pressed Trump to kill the Iran nuclear deal. He has open access to the president, and he is also close to Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s embattled prime minister. Hayom, Adelson’s newspaper, is regarded by many in the Jewish state as Netanyahu’s mouthpiece.

issues, although that hasn’t stopped 35 Koch staffers and others linked to Koch organizations from moving over to Trump Administration jobs. The Kochs’ Hispanic advocacy organization wants immigrant children brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents – the socalled “Dreamers” – to be allowed to remain, but not at the expense of Trump’s conditions to cut back on other categories of immigration. The Koch brothers also differ from Trump administration on tougher law-and-order measures and favor prisoner rehabilitation and prison reform. This year, Koch Industries aired ads during the Superbowl and the Olympics, spending between $8 and $12 million to “boost the reputation of its corporate brand, as well as quash “misperceptions by people who only associate the company with its owners’ political views” per the Wall Street Journal. Longtime GOP political operative Steve Lombardo serves as Koch Industries’ chief communications and marketing officer, deftly giving voice to the

brothers’ agenda.

Thomas Barrack

CEO, Colony Northstar The California real estate mogul is a long-time supporter of Donald Trump, but he first came to wide attention after the election when he chaired the Inauguration. The celebration was a disappointment to Trump, but the affable, polo playing businessman who is of Lebanese origin, managed to remain a close advisor to the president, and a go-to media source for attributable Trump quotes. Barrack had a hand in Trump’s widely publicized trip to Saudi Arabia. As the Trump juggernaut recently came close to crushing White House chief-of-staff John Kelly over the Rob Porter wife abuse scandal, the New York Times listed Barrack as one of Kelly’s possible successors.

THE CONTRARIAN LIBERTARIAN

Peter Thiel Co-founder, Paypal Even as Silicon Valley’s big names were backing the wrong horse, Thiel became an early Trump supporter, donating $1.5 million to The Donald’s election campaign. A long-time articulate critic of political correctness, the German-born executive remains a close Trump advisor. It was once rumored that Trump would appoint Thiel to a top position in intelligence. That never happened – at least, not so far. But Thiel had a hand in shaping Team Trump, suggesting names for key staff posts in technology, science and security. Recently, Thiel quit Silicon Valley and shifted his operations to Los Angeles. “Silicon Valley is a one-party state,” he declared. And it certainly wasn’t Thiel’s party.

advocacy

The swamp Norm Coleman Chairman, Republican Jewish Coalition Matthew Brooks Executive Director, Republican Jewish Coalition Coleman, a former Republican s e n a t o r f r om Minnesota, and Brooks, head this leading Jewish lobby organization focusing on Republican lawmakers. The RJC has strong ties to mega-donor and Donald Trump supporter Sheldon Adelson but has had its differences with the president over what some say seems like ambivalence on Trump’s part to speak out on racial issues and anti-Semitism. Last year, Coleman called on the president to show “greater moral clarity” after he appeared to equate white supremacists with protesters who clashed with them. The RJC also had issues with Trump’s failure to mention Jewish victims in a Holocaust Remembrance Day statement. But when Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and said he would move the Tel Aviv-based U.S. embassy there, the RJC took out a full-page ad in the New York Times thanking him for his decision, notwithstanding international condemnation for the move and the riots that ensued in the West Bank.

Thomas J. Donohue President & CEO, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Scott Reed Senior Political Strategist, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Major corporations that once relied on the Chamber now opt increasingly to do their own lobbying, but the Chamber still has

considerable inf luence, and Donohue, nearing 80, continues to be regarded by many as an effective voice for American business interests. Reed, a longtime GOP insider, represents the organization’s perceived Republican tilt. The Chamber of Commerce is on the same wavelength as Donald Trump on many issues (infrastructure, tax reform), but differs on others, notably Trump’s stance on free trade and what many see as his draconian immigration policies.

Kay Coles James

President, Heritage Foundation As its eighth president, the Heritage Foundation – the conservative think tank Donald Trump called a “real friend” – picked a female, African-American, 12-year board member with plenty of experience in state and federal government. As director of the Office of Personnel Management in George W. Bush’s administration, she merged 22 different government agencies to form the sprawling Department of Homeland Security. The think tank she now heads earned Trump’s favor by f looding his transition team with hundreds of policy recommendations, ranging from quitting the Paris climate accord to Supreme Court nominees. At least 25 former Heritage staffers made their own transition to jobs throughout the administration.

Steve Elmendorf

Partner, Subject Matter The Democratic side of this Washington lobbying firm - represented by Elemendorf, who has close ties to Hillary Rodham Clinton - witnessed a slowdown in business since Clinton’s 2016 loss, but still punches above its weight on both sides of the aisle. K Street Republicans and Democrats both speak highly of his work and given how he is rallying Democratic support for the 2018 mid-term elections and House Speaker Paul Ryan’s forthcoming departure, his star is likely to rise again. Elmendorf is also rumored to be picking up

silicon valley on the defensive Susan Molinari Vice President of Public Policy, Google Joel Kaplan Vice President for U.S. Public Policy, Facebook Corie Wright Director of Global Public Policy, Netflix Fred Humphries Corporate Vice President of U.S. Government Affairs, Microsoft Corporation

These executives are at the forefront of the online industry’s push-back against the Congress and administration’s determined drive to regulate them, not to mention other challenges related to major issues of privacy, transparency in advertising, anti-trust charges and more. Molinari is a former Republican congresswoman from New York, Kaplan was a deputy chiefof-staff in the George W. Bush White House, Wright came from the non-profit public sector and Humphries was once a policy advisor for former-Sen. Dick Gephardt as well as a political director at the Democratic National Committee. In February, they joined forces in an attempt to lobby Congress to restore the Obama era’s net neutrality rule, repealed in 2017 by the Trump administration. Earlier, Facebook lost a battle to turn over to Congress more than 3,000 ads planted by Russians in Moscow’s campaign to inf luence the 2016 election. In April, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg answered a summons to appear before Congress following revelations that Cambridge Analytica, a British research firm working for the Trump campaign, had plundered the profiles of millions of Facebook users. Even as they say they are committing themselves to greater transparency, the companies are pushing back against law enforcement and intelligence communities’ refusal to alert clients if agencies request information from their accounts. The atmosphere is toxic and vindictive because almost all of the U.S. social media and social networking community backed the Democrats in 2016. In their lobbying they have the advantage of deep pockets. For example, Fox Business claimed recently that “Cumulatively, over the past five years, only Google has spent more than Boeing on lobbying Washington.”

clients from Tony Podesta’s now-defunct lobbying shop.

Adam Falkoff

President, Capital Keys In a tumultuous administration, Falkoff’s access to President Trump has positioned his public policy firm well. Few are able to navigate matters with the skeletal staffs at agencies and the White House like Falkoff, who’s also helped advance appointees through Senate confirmations. He has known the Trump family for a decade, and helped raise $1.2 million in campaign funds and was one of his earliest outside strategic advisors. A filmmaker as well, Falkoff’s fifth production “The Brawler” hits theaters in June. This month, he is to be awarded the 2018 Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

Thomas Fitton

President, Judicial Watch The strongly pro-Republican Judicial Watch, which Fitton heads and Trump likes to quote, originally revealed Hillary Clinton’s alleged misuse of classified memos as secretary of state. More recently, Fitton accused the Obama administration of turning the FBI into “a KGB-style operation,” and claimed that Hillary Clinton and the Democrats had misled a court to authorize “spying on the Trump Team.” The organization doggedly pursues Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, claiming it wants to uncover “corrupt behavior” that occurs “in secrecy, behind closed doors.” But Fitton and his group have been accused of being obsessed with Hillary Clinton’s emails and spreading untruths about their contents. Fitton has also called for an end to the Mueller investigation and the shuttering of the FBI.

Jack Gerard

President and CEO, American Petroleum Institute Gerard’s annual report in January on the state of the U.S. oil and natural gas industry was his swan song. After a decade as

head of the powerful trade organization representing the interests of 625 large and small American companies in the fossil fuel energy sector, where he helped dismantle numerous environmental protection laws, he plans to step down from the post in August. Whoever replaces him will continue to exert considerable influence on behalf of oil interests.

Jo Ann Jenkins CEO, AARP An executive with years of federal government experience, Jenkins now heads one of Washington’s most powerful lobbies, representing the interests of nearly 38 million members age 50 and over. In her four years as CEO she has significantly shifted the association’s approach to meet the expectations and problems of a more active senior community. AARP also offers health insurance to members via a partnership with UnitedHealth Group, the country’s largest health insurance company. According to Forbes, the “AARP brand has helped grow UnitedHealth’s Medicare and retiree business to more than 8.5 million seniors.”

Howard Kohr

Executive Director, AIPAC Kohr’s challenge is to maintain the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s bipartisan course in an increasingly polarized political environment. President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran was a bitter defeat for AIPAC. The biggest Jewish lobby in the U.S. has found an ally in Donald Trump’s growing opposition to Iran – but perhaps at the expense of its bipartisanship. At the March 2018 convention, the keynote speakers were Vice President Pence and ex-officio Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, both of whom, for different reasons, are reportedly looked upon with some reservations by a broad section of American Jews. A recent article by an American writer in the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz was headed “Why Young Jews and Democrats are Waving Goodbye to AIPAC.”

Mark Lampkin Managing Partner, Washington, D.C. Office of Brownstein, Hyatt, Farber & Schreck Michael Petruzzello Founder and Managing Partner, Qorvis MSLGroup In his campaign, Trump frequently vowed to make life more difficult for Washington’s lobbyists through tighter regulations, but the reverse is happening. “In reality, instead of presaging a crackdown on lobbyists, Trump’s election spelled opportunity for them,” said a report by Public Citizen, a consumer protection organization. Two high-end lobbying firms illustrate this point. Brownstein Hyatt Farber, an Arizona firm with a strong D.C. presence headed by Mark Lampkin, is within the top five in income ($28.7 million in 2017) and has been engaged in leading issues before Congress on behalf of its health, tax, and gaming clients. Michael Petruzzello’s Qorvis MSLGroup (now part of the French multinational giant Publicis Group) has a broad list of clients, but according to Advertising Age is best known for representing foreign governments such as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, China, Equatorial Guinea, Mexico and Fiji. Plus, according to public records compiled by the investigative nonprofit ProPublica, at least 187 former lobbyists have settled comfortably into jobs in the Trump Administration.

Wayne LaPierre Executive Vice President and CEO, National Rifle Association In the wake of yet another tragic mass shooting, this time at a school in Parkland, Fla., and despite the ensuing “Never Again” movement, there has yet to be action on Capitol Hill with regard to gun control. The latest incident engaged President Trump whose answer was – more guns. His proposal to arm teachers to defend their students was greeted with widespread skepticism by … teachers. Gun control is an eternal political dead-end in large part because the NRA not only donates campaign cash, mostly to

Republicans, but also keeps a scorecard on politicians’ positions as a helpful guide for its members at voting time. NRA board member and rock musician Ted Nugent continues to mock Parkland shooting survivors, calling them “liars” and accusing them of not having a soul for calling out the NRA.

Leonard Leo

Executive Vice President, Federalist Society This influential far-right legal group and its executive vice president are among the Trump White House’s leading sources in recommending and vetting candidates for the Supreme Court and other federal judicial appointments.

Ronna McDaniel Chairwoman, Republican National Committee Thomas Perez Chairman, Democratic National Committee Both face the immediate challenge of shepherding their party through the 2018 midterms. Time will tell whether McDaniel — who used to be Ronna Romney McDaniel until Trump suggested that she might drop the reference to her uncle Mitt’s family — will find the influence and persuasive skill to be effective in managing when and where Trump’s campaign support will be helpful or toxic. Perez has to show he can turn a favorable political climate for Democrats into the reality of more Democrat wins. He and DNC Deputy Chairman Rep. Keith Ellison face the longer term problem of ensuring that a post-Hillary environment will allow enough space for a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate to gain traction.

Grover Norquist

President, Americans for Tax Reform Norquist has for years crusaded for the abolition of taxes altogether, but he has been vocal in his embrace of Trump’s recent

tax reform victory as the next best thing. The group’s website maintains a list of companies that have passed on one-time bonuses to their employees as a result of lower corporate taxes.

Anthony Romero Executive Director,

American Civil Liberties Union Romero has headed the American Civil Liberties Union since 2001. According to Politico, there has been “an explosion of donor and membership” since Trump’s election; and the organization has found a new purpose in direct involvement in national elections. He recently announced that ACLU plans to spend $25 million in the 2018 midterms to push ballot initiatives and issues in contested races.

Richard Trumka President, ALF-CIO In the 2016 election, working class Americans broke ranks with the Democrats and voted for Donald Trump in significant numbers. As leader of the nation’s largest labor federation, Trumka took the hint and established a budding rapport with Trump. But in January, Trumka told the New York Times that the president had failed to deliver on his key election promises and had consequently lost labor support. “What he’s doing hasn’t matched up to what he’s said,” was Trumka’s comment. More recently, however, Trumka applauded the president’s controversial plan to place tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

Randi Weingarten

President, American Federation of Teachers The combative union representative of 1.7 million teachers, a former teacher herself, leads the fight against Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’s campaign to boost charter schools and private school vouchers at the expense of the nation’s public school system. She is backing teachers in states such as Oklahoma and West Virginia who have staged walkouts to protest low teacher salaries and lack of adequate funding in public schools.

THE POWER OF THE SOCIAL MOVEMENT METOO AND NEVERAGAIN

Last October, a powerful movement began on social media, when, after Harvey Weinstein was revealed to be a longtime sexual predator, actress Alyssa Milano encouraged women to share their stories of sexual harassment or assault, using the hashtag #MeToo. It took off, with more than 4.7 million people using the hashtag on Facebook in 12 million posts over the course of 24 hours, including a number of Hollywood celebrities. Activist Tarana Burke, who originally used the term in 2006, continues to be outspoken about sexual violence and the silencing of victims. In response to #MeToo, a group of powerful Hollywood women launched the Time’s Up initiative, a campaign to fight sexual harassment and advocate for victims with a legal defense fund.

In February 2018, a former student carrying an AR-15 walked into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. and killed 17 students and staff members. Only four days after the tragic event, a gun control movement was formed. Twenty survivors, including Emma Gonzalez, David Hogg and Cameron Kasky, began mobilizing for gun reform, organizing a march on Washington that drew approximately more than 200,000, and speaking out on social media using the hashtag #NeverAgain. Several of the students were featured on the cover of TIME magazine in March. Retailers have taken a stand as a direct result: Dicks Sporting Goods announced that it will no longer sell assault-style rifles nor will Walmart sell guns or ammunition to customers under 21. In March, Florida passed the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act that raised the minimum age to buy firearms.

MEDIA

The “fake news” crowd Robert Allbritton Publisher, Politico Patrick Steel CEO, Politico What the Wall Street Journal calls the “D.C.-obsessed web publication” completed its internal adjustments following the 2016 defection of five top staffers to start their own news outlet with the appointment of a new CEO, investment banker Patrick Steel. With this adjustment, Allbritton returned to his original role of publisher and executive chairman. In terms of content, Politico withstood the upheaval as a result of the departing five. The organization expanded its European operation, benefited from the Trump bump in Washington and boosted Politico Pro, a subscription service that now accounts for almost half Politico’s yearly revenue.

Marty Baron Executive Editor, Washington Post Fred Ryan Publisher, Washington Post With a new, bottom-lineconscious owner and a new home in downtown Washington, the paper has taken Trump’s campaign against the media as a personal challenge, publishing one exclusive story after another. If Judge Roy Moore isn’t sitting in Washington today as the Republican senator from Alabama it’s largely because the Post uncovered the Trump-backed candidate’s troubling history with young women (a scoop that recently won it a Pulitzer Prize). The Post has also seen an upsurge in its digital subscriptions, having – at Bezos’ suggestion – put more resources into its website; and in 2018 will be profitable for the second straight year.

Maggie Haberman White House correspondent, The New York Times “One of the saving graces of the Trump era is the journalism it has inspired,” wrote David Remnick, editor of the New Yorker magazine. He was writing about Maggie Haberman, but it serves well as a general comment on Trump coverage since his arrival at the White House. Haberman’s reporting puts Trump under a microscope, examining him as if he were a specimen in a science laboratory. There is little warmth in her scrutiny, but Trump – a New Yorker – seems obsessed with Haberman and the Times.

Ryan Grim Washington Bureau Chief, The Intercept Glenn Greenwald Co-Founder, The Intercept Grim left his position as D.C. bureau chief of the Huff ington Post when Lydia Polgreen took over as editor-in-chief last year and immediately landed at The Intercept, which bills itself as a news site featuring “fearless, adversarial journalism that holds the powerful accountable.” Greenwald was one of the original recipients of Edward Snowden’s NSA leaks, and he founded The Intercept as an online publication in 2014 (along with Laura Poitras) to publish the material. Since then the Intercept has focused on national security and surveillance issues and often goes where mainstream media won’t go.

Chris Matthews Host, MSNBC’s ”Hardball” Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski Co-Hosts, MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”

With decades of experience in Washington politics and journalism, long-time MSNBC “Hardball” host Chris Matthews remains one of the more perceptive Trump critics. “Morning Joe” co-hosts Joe Scarborough

and Mika Brzezinski, who are engaged to be married, had a good relationship with Trump in the 2016 campaign when they treated him as a plausible candidate. Trump called the pair “believers,” was a regular follower of their show and from time to time would phone them to discuss his progress. But once Trump moved into the White House the relationship soured; they became the target of spiteful Trump tweets, and White House staffers say he stopped watching their show. Still, Scarborough, a former Republican congressman, continues to take the administration and the GOP to task, making MSNBC go-to TV for Beltway insiders.

Jim Lobe Founder and Director, LobeLog Founded by, and named after veteran journalist Jim Lobe, the blog provides useful background on foreign policy issues, with special focus on the Middle East. It relies heavily on contributions from former intelligence, diplomats and government officials, and tries to be even-handed in its approach to the troubled region. It was originally part of the Inter Press Service, a long-established information outlet with strong Latin American interests launched by two Argentine journalists. Years ago, Lobe moved it to the Institute for Policy Studies.

Jake Tapper Chief Washington correspondent, CNN Wolf Blitzer Lead political anchor, CNN People forget that Jake Tapper also clashed with the Obama White House, just as he does now with the Trump White House. In a recent interview he said the media often gave Obama a free ride, and sometimes give Trump too hard a ride. As an on-air interviewer he is fair, but sometimes finds it hard to suppress his indignation, as evidenced in a recent interview in which he summarily dismissed Trump advisor and speechwriter Stephen Miller. Blitzer, anchor of CNN’s “Situation Room,” is Tapper’s on-camera opposite – calm, controlled and low key. His demeanor has helped him remain one of the mainstay faces of CNN.

Mike Allen Co-Founder, Axios

Jim VandeHei Co-Founder, Axios Donald Trump’s election helped jumpstart former Politico stars VandeHei and Allen’s rival venture, started with $10 million and the support of other Politico defectors. The Trump story proved to be a gift that keeps on giving, helping to establish Axios as a news service to be reckoned with.

Chris Wallace Moderator, “Fox News Sunday” Bret Baier Chief Political Anchor and Host, “Special Report with Bret Baier,” Fox News Fox News remains the most-watched cable news channel (no surprise it would maintain a lead over CNN and MSNBC in the Trump era) and its senior Washington correspondents - Chris Wallace and Bret Baier continue to be widely watched across the country. Not combative like their counterparts, they remain respected voices of reason at the network. Last month Baier was spotted golfing with the Commander in Chief at Trump National in Virginia.

Judy Woodruff Anchor and Managing Editor, “PBS NewsHour” Sara Just Executive Producer, “PBS NewsHour”; Senior Vice President, WETA In March, Judy Woodruff was finally and officially named sole anchor of the “PBS NewsHour,” the nightly program she had been shepherding alone since co-anchor Gwen Ifill died of cancer in 2016. The show is now helmed completely by women - Woodruff is also managing editor and Sara Just serves as executive producer. Under their leadership, the program has increased its’ nightly audience by 12 percent since 2016 to 1.9 million viewers. It remains a reliable, drama-free news source. In April, the show received a Peabody for a report, “Inside Putin’s Russia.”

THE�TRUMPETERS Sean Hannity Host “Hannity,” Fox News Ainsley Earhardt Co-host, “Fox & Friends,” Christopher Ruddy CEO and Editor-in-Chief, Newsmax Media

Hannity hosts the top nightly cable show. Because of his closeness to Trump – they are in frequent contact – he is widely seen as a member of an unofficial inner circle the president consults, to the exasperation of the White House staff. If Trump can do any wrong, Hannity has yet to acknowledge it. Hannity was also recently revealed to be a client of Trump attorney Michael Cohen and although he was criticized for not telling viewers, it didn’t make a dent in his ratings. But “Fox & Friends” is the program Trump regularly watches and what gets him tweeting in the morning (he’s also a fan of co-host Ainsley Earhardt and recently tweeted about her new book). Ruddy, a London School of Economics graduate, owns an influential conservative multimedia company. The Atlantic monthly has called him the “Zelig of the Trump administration” because he pops up in Washington when least expected and comments quotably to the media about Trump’s decisions and actions, with no serious repercussions from the president.

Tucker Carlson Political Commentator, Fox News Matthew Boyle Washington editor, Breitbart News Network Benny Johnson Reporter-at-large, Daily Caller

With his boyish appearance, Carlson appears to have prolonged adolescence into early manhood (The New Yorker said he dressed like a spelling bee champion),

but he’s good at it. Having gravitated from MSNBC to CNN, he is now Fox News’ conservative grenade launcher, leaving nightly casualties in his wake. Breitbart has lost Steve Bannon, its ideological leader, but not Bannon’s protégé and star performer Matthew Boyle, who supports Trump and punishes his enemies. Boyle spent weeks in Alabama covering the Roy Moore senatorial campaign and has interviewed Trump many times. Benny Johnson was fired from both Buzzfeed and Independent Journal Review for plagiarism, but landed on his feet as a reporter-at-large at the Daily Caller where he is poised to take advantage of any post- Bannon slippage in Breitbart’s popularity.

David D. Smith Executive Chairman Christopher Ripley President and CEO, Sinclair Broadcast Group Controlled by founder Julian Sinclair Smith’s family, this publicly traded company is by far the largest broadcaster in the United States with close to 200 local news stations across the country. Headquartered in Maryland, Sinclair controls the local news that over 40 percent of American households see in more than a 100 local markets. Sinclair has been buying more and more news stations and placing rightwing editorial with supposedly unbiased commentators. This year Deadspin compiled a video that went viral showing trusted local news anchors from Sinclair-controlled markets all reading from the same script word for word, ironically warning viewers about “fake news.” Former CBS Anchor Dan Rather has described Sinclair’s practices as “an assault on our democracy” that disseminates Orwellian-like propaganda to its local stations. In 2016 Politico reported that Jared Kushner struck a deal with Sinclair to get better coverage of Trump in return for more access to the campaign. Now it seems Trump may be repaying the favor. If the acquisition of 233 more stations is approved Sinclair will have unprecedented reach to 70 percent of local U.S. markets.

BUSINESS & REAL ESTATE

Thomas Anderson Founder, Washington Fine Properties Dana Landry Founder, Washington Fine Properties William F.X. Moody Founder, Washington Fine Properties Marc Schappell Founder, Washington Fine Properties

One of Washington’s most successful real estate powerhouses is benefiting from the District’s “re-urbanization,” where a combination of the active development sector, the city’s flourishing economy and a general renewed interest in city living is ensuring the market stays steadily hot. WFP founding partners Anderson, Landry, Moody and Schappell are at the forefront of the revival, keeping the leading company’s 150-plus agents busy selling downtown developments on the U Street Corridor and beyond. Recently one of the company’s senior sales associates said on a radio program that real estate agents were selling residential properties in areas of Washington where they feared to tread a few years ago. WFP is also capitalizing on young married couples drifting back from the suburbs to savor the amenities and walkability of Washington. But what grabbed the headlines and boosted its revenues to $2.7 billion in 2017 were its high end sales including, most recently, the late Mandell Ourisman and wife Mary’s Woodland Drive home sale to the Embassy of Morocco as the ambassador’s residence for $14 million. WFP represented seven of the top 10 sales in the Capital Region in 2017 and was the “goto” firm for sales to Trump administration biggies, including Mnuchin, Ross, DeVos, Conway and former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

Jeff Bezos

CEO, Amazon; Owner, The Washington Post Bezos is the richest man on the planet with a personal wealth valuation of $129.5 billion – “enough to cover Britain’s budget deficit twice over and still have change,” as the Guardian newspaper put it. Its main source is 16 percent of Amazon shares, which is why his personal wealth took a dip when Trump launched a Twitter campaign against the company, charging that it wasn’t paying enough to the Postal Service for its deliveries (others say Amazon business is helping to keep the mail service in business). With the acquisition of the Post in 2013 for $250 million, Bezos established a presence in Washington, which could increase if Washington, Virginia or Maryland land the contract for Amazon’s planned second headquarters, for which 238 towns and cities across the nation have put in bids. With the purchase of a mammoth home in the Kalorama neighborhood (formerly the Textile Museum) we can expect that Bezos will be spending more time in the nation’s capital, but certainly not to be close to Trump. Their differences go back to the 2016 campaign when Bezos offered Trump a free ride into space with the hashtag #SendDonaldtoSpace. Trump landed in the White House instead and that, among other things, raises questions about the future feasibility of Bezos’ new $32 million college scholarship fund for “Dreamers.”

Richard Fairbank

Chairman and CEO, Capital One Financial Corp. “What’s in your wallet?” is Capital One’s familiar advertising slogan. In Fairbank’s case, the answer is $1 billion. In 2017, Fairbanks became one of four bank CEOs to have reached the billion-dollar pinnacle. And he knows Jennifer Garner, who is featured in the company’s numerous TV ads. Since Capital One was launched in 1994, Fairbank has built it into the seventh biggest U.S. commercial bank ranked by assets with 4,500 employees, 1,000 branches in six states and $27.2 billion in revenue. He collects no salary but over the past three years has averaged $18 million in cash bonuses,

stock and options awards from the bank, according to Bloomberg. At 67, he still plays ice hockey.

P. Wesley Foster Jr. Founder and Chairman Emeritus, The Long & Foster Companies Jeffrey Detwiler CEO and President, The Long & Foster Companies The company was founded in 1968 by Wes Foster and Hank Long, and it has grown into one of the largest independent residential real estate brands in America in sales volume. Over 10,000 agents and 1,800 employees work in more than 220 offices spread throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, from North Carolina to New Jersey (including over 4,500 in the D.C. metro area). In 2017, Long & Foster Real Estate had $31.1 billion in sales volume and sold nearly 85,000 homes. Likewise, Long & Foster’s affiliated businesses of mortgage, insurance, settlement and property management achieved significant results in the last year. Prosperity Home Mortgage financed nearly 10,900 loans for a total of $3.06 billion in volume. Long & Foster Settlement Services closed over 20,500 transactions and Long & Foster Insurance wrote over 9,800 new policies, bringing its total policies in force to nearly 49,500. The company accomplished these results while being acquired by the Minneapolis-based HomeServices of America, an affiliate of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, a partnership announced in September 2017 that created an even bigger combined company and stronger financial status for the firm and its agents.

Marillyn Hewson

President and CEO, Lockheed Martin When President Trump complained about the high cost of Lockheed Martin’s overbudget and years-late-in-delivery

F-35 jet fighter, Hewson promptly announced

a price-cut, thereby deftly avoiding more adverse presidential tweets. It makes good sense for the head of the Pentagon’s No. 1 weapons supplier to avoid irritating an unpredictable commander-in-chief, especially when he has called for a significant increase in U.S. defense spending, which the whole industry regards as a welcome bonanza after years of Pentagon belt-tightening.

Todd Hitt

Founder and CEO, Kiddar Capital “We’re a true private equity company with $1.4 billion under management and very little outside capital. Right now $120 million of that is directly at work in U.S. Housing,” is how Hitt describes the alternative asset management firm he started in 2007. The emphasis on built world investing is no coincidence, A native Washingtonian, Hitt is a member of the family behind Hitt Contracting, the construction company founded by his grandparents in 1937. His private equity firm is headquartered in Falls Church, Va. with additional offices in Houston, Palm Springs and London, giving them a national and global presence in the alternative investing world. Hitt’s assets span real estate, venture, credit, energy and sports. A noted social impact investor who tracks job creation along with financial returns at his firm, he is a frequent commentator on TV news and finance programs where he often calls for immigration and education reforms to counteract the labor shortage, reduce inequality and drive industrial and GDP growth. “We need to put people where the jobs are,” he says, “and jobs where the people are.”

Sheila Johnson CEO, Salamander Hotels and Resorts; Co-Founder, WE Capital Sachiko Kuno Founder, Halcyon; Co-Founder, WE Capital Johnson and Kuno, both successful businesswomen

in their own right (the former is a cofounder of BET and the latter of Sucampo Pharmaceuticals) launched the female led investment fund WE Capital in 2016 to support women-led companies that make a social impact. Kuno also co-founded Halcyon, a start-up incubator in Georgetown led by CEO Kate Goodall that provides funding, mentorship, free residency and a workplace to social entrepreneurs working on “scalable and sustainable” ventures. Together, they’ve helped make Washington one of the leading cities for women in tech in the nation.

Matt Kelly

CEO , JBG Smith In 2017 JBG Cos, a closely held Washington landlord, merged with Vornado Realty Trust’s vast portfolio of area

Steve Case Chairman and CEO, Revolution Jean Case Chairman, National Geographic

of 125 start-ups in the ecosystem sector from 57 Rust Belt towns and cities met in Washington to discuss funding and the micro-venture capital sector. The meeting was oganized by Revolution, a venture capital investment program started by digital pioneer and co-founder of America Online Steve Case and devoted to innovative and dynamic new companies. In the summer of 2017, Case went on a bus tour of non-coastal states and at each stop handed out $100,000 to one start-up based on its presentation. Jean Case is chairman of the board of trustees of the National Geographic Society with which she has been connected for more than a decade. The couple (net worth $1.34 billion) has joined Warren Buffett’s Giving Pledge along with other wealthy entrepreneurs, to donate the bulk of their fortunes to philanthropic causes.

office buildings and apartments to create the largest developer in the region. Following the merger, the JBG Cos. began trading on the New York Stock Exchange. In addition to Kelly, two other JBG top executives will have key positions in the new company – Robert Stewart is executive vice-chairman and David Paul, chief operating officer. JBG has an operating portfolio of over 20 million square feet of residential and office properties but is best known for its Crystal City development.

Roger Krone

Chairman & CEO, Leidos Holdings Inc. In 2014, when Krone was 58, he decided it was time to retire from Boeing after 35 years in the aerospace business. His idea of retirement was to take over Leidos, a government contractor, and

double its size. The term government contractor suggests hardware suppliers, but Leidos is an IT contractor. “We use information to solve really complex customers’ problems, [using] a set of software applications and really smart people,” Krone says. For example, in 2017, Leidos created an electronic health record for every one of the over 9 million active U.S. militar y across the globe. The company is also the leading supplier of air traffic control systems worldwide. In 2016, Leidos merged with Lockheed Martin’s Information Systems and Global Solutions Business. Virtually overnight its workforce went from 18,000 to 33,000 (8,977 in the D.C. area), and its revenue from $5 billion to $10 billion, which is how you become the largest pure-play (i.e., having one line of business) government contractor.

Ted Leonsis Founder, Chairman and CEO, Monumental Sports & Entertainment The sound of bongo drums echo at Washington Wizards games these days, which is Te d L e o n s i s’ w a y o f introducing fans to the latest addition to the Monumental Sports family – the Capital City Go-Gos, the Wizards’ new affiliates in the G League, or minor league. Leonsis says the team’s name was inspired by go-go music, one of Washington’s beloved musical traditions, and calls it “the music we grew up with.” The team will play in the new arena in Southwest now under construction. “They will be a way to develop players and coaches, and will be an outlet for a lot of fun for our fans,” L e on s i s s ay s. T he G o - G o s joi n Monumental’s roster of five sports teams including the NHL’s Washington Capitals and the Washington Wizards of the NBA. Monumental’s partners are: Dick Patrick, Raul Fernandez, Sheila Johnson, David Blair, Scott Brickman, Neil Cohen, Jack Davies, Richard Fairbank, Michelle Freeman, Richard Kay, Jeong H. Kim, Mark Lerner, Roger Mody, Anthony Nader, Fredrik Schaufeld, Earl Stafford,

George Stamas and Cliff White and most recently, Laurene Powell Jobs.

J.W. (Bill) Marriott Executive Chairman, Marriott International Arne Sorenson CEO, Marriott International After running the f a m i l y h o t e l ch a i n for 4 0 years, Marriott kicked himself upstairs three years ago and appointed Sorenson to run the company as its first chief executive officer to not have Marriott as his surname. After its acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Marriott International grew to 6,000 hotels in 122 countries, totaling 1.1 million rooms and employing 350,000 people. The company’s biggest challenge his year was deciding where to relocate its new corporate headquarters after decades on Bethesda’s Fernwood Road. The company had said from the start that it would stay in the Washington area and the final choice was to remain in Montgomery County. Its new $ 600 million campus at 7500 Wisconsin Avenue will include a 22-story off ice tower and naturally, a Marriott hotel.

Milt Peterson Principal and Chairman, Peterson Companies Dwight Schar Chairman, NVR, Inc. Knox Singleton President, Inova Health System

Peterson’s development business has built up major retail/ residential projects like National Harbor and Fairfax Corner. Schar is founder of Ryan Homes and owner of Reston-based NVR Inc., the nation’s fifth largest homebuilder. Singleton was, until his recent retirement, the longtime CEO of Inova Health System. Turn to page 35 to read about how these three business titans have transformed Northern Virginia.

Michael Rankin & Jonathan Taylor Co-founder, TTR Sotheby’s International Realty Mark Lowham CEO and Managing Partner, TTR Sotheby’s International Realty

The Wa sh i ng ton a f f i l iate of t he international company has its fair share of the District’s luxury (and often historic) market with six of its current listings topping $10 million. In 2017 Sotheby’s nabbed “Merr ywood,” the Potomac River estate in Virginia with the double distinction of having been Jacqueline Onassis’s childhood home and being owned by philanthropists Steve and Jean Case. Asking price: $49.5 million. The brokerage firm ended 2017 with $3.14 billion in sales, which included the highest on record for the Washington area: the $35 million sale of Dwight Schar’s McLean home. The firm’s banner year also included repping both sides of the $5.2 million McLean sale by Boston Properties co-founder Ray Ritchey and his wife Anne to Washington Capitals star T.J. Oshie. Then, earlier this year, a Georgetown town house where then-Senator John F. Kennedy first met Jacqueline Kennedy in 1951, also listed by Sotheby’s, was snapped up within days. In 2014, Sotheby’s agents were on both sides of the transaction for the historic Patterson Mansion sale in Dupont Circle for $20 million, a record price at the time.

David Rubenstein

Executive Chairman, Carlyle Group Rubenstein has stepped down as co-CEO of the giant equity company he founded with two partners and built up to its present level of managing $170 billion in assets. He and William F. Conway will remain as co-executive chairmen. But as he says himself, “It’s not as if we’re disappearing into the dust.” Washingtonians know him for his high-profile philanthropy with a passion for American history, and as chairman of

practically everything. There’s no indication that he will relinquish any of his various board positions including at the National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian Institution, the Kennedy Center and the Council on Foreign Relations, among others. Rubenstein, who is reportedly worth $2.7 billion, was one of several billionaires invited to the White House’s state dinner French President Emmanuel Macron in April.

Duff Rubin President, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Mid-Atlantic One of the Mid-Atlantic region’s leading residential real estate companies, 112-year-old Coldwell Banker has 30 offices and over 2,100 agents in Greater Baltimore, Greater Washington, D.C. and the Maryland and Delaware beaches. The brokerage closed more than $5.37 billion in residential sales in 2017. Coldwell Banker’s highest sale last year was a home in Benton Place NW Washington to presidential advisor Kellyanne Conway for $7.785 million.

Holly Worthington Managing Director, D.C. office, Compass Patrick Chauvin Executive Vice-President, Compass This 6-year-old startup is the fastest growing company in real estate nationwide. Compass moved into the local real estate market in 2014 by acquiring the boutique brokerage Lindsay Reishman Real Estate and has placed itself among the top brokerages by volume in the District as of yearend 2017. Compass offers agents a suite of proprietary tools and technology to make the home buying and selling process easier for both them and their clients. Recently, the brokerage celebrated the opening of its sixth brick and mortar office in the metro region. The rapidly-expanding group is led by Cofounder and CEO Robert Reffkin, previously chief of staff to the president of Goldman Sachs, and Co-founder and Executive Chairman Ori Allon.

Monty Hoffman President, PN Hoffman

In the summer of 2017, Monty Hoffman, one of the city’s leading urban developers, relocated

his company’s offices to The Wharf, the new $2.5 billion complex on the water’s edge of the Washington Channel of the Potomac River. The move made sense: PN Hoffman, his company with partner Madison Marquette, had almost completed the first phase of The Wharf’s construction, including apartments, offices, restaurants and commercial spaces. The New York Times reported that the project had returned the decaying waterfront to life. If it were Hoffman’s only project he would already have left his mark on Washington. But the company he started in 1993 with a single townhouse conversion has been a market leader in the city’s urban transformation.

SOCIAL / CULTURE

FOOD MUSIC THEATERART&RELIGION José Andrés Founder, Think Food Group Franco Nuschese Owner, Café Milano Fabio and Maria Trabocchi Owners, Fiola Restaurant, Fiola Mare, Del Mar, Sfoglina and Casa Luca

Until a few years ago nobody came to Washington for the food, but, once here, they had to eat. Today, it’s gourmet heaven and the best known Washington monument may well be José Andrés, with his smorgasbord of creative, high quality eating places and his two stars in the Michelin Guide (for Minibar). The other side to the Spanish-born chef (now a proud U.S. citizen) is his food-based global activism and philanthropy. In March, he was saluted on stage at the Academy Awards for his disaster relief efforts hurricane-ravaged areas like Puerto Rico where he was first on the scene serving 100,000 meals a day to deprived survivors. Franco Nuschese’s Café Milano is Washington’s live Mount Rushmore, where a frieze of political leaders and celebrities provides a nightly spectacle of some of the most powerful and best known jaws in the country working through traditional Italian dishes. Members of Trump’s Cabinet had settled in at Franco’s even before they could find their way to the White House. The Trabocchis’ Fiola Mare in Georgetown competes with Café Milano for prestige dining, and the couple’s five high-end, high quality restaurants reflect their respective homelands: Chef Fabio is Italian, and Maria is from Spain. Their newest concept Del Mar at the Wharf has gained national attention for its supremely executed

dishes and impressive decor. Fiola in Penn Quarter has earned a Michelin star.

Anne Midgette Classical music critic, Washington Post Tom Sietsema Food critic, Washington Post “Anne Midgette plays an increasingly important role in helping someone decide where to spend their free time and cultural dollars; her reviews could have an impact on the opera box office.” So says Michelle Krisel, former special assistant to Placido Domingo at the Washington National Opera, and lately general and artistic director of the Charlottesville Opera. Midgette came to the Post in 2008 from the New York Times. At the Post, her remit extends to all forms of classical music but, given the rising cost of mounting an opera production, it is her WNO reviews that are anticipated with greater anxiety. Midgette brings wide musical knowledge to the job but has been known not to pull punches. Tom Sietsema may not be the only food writer in town, but given the power of his newspaper he is without the question the most widely read, and has the greatest clout. He has been with at the Post since 2000 and the impact of his reviews has grown with Washington’s importance as a restaurant town.

Gianandrea Noseda

Musical Director, NSO The National Symphony Orchestra’s eighth musical director – and the first Italian – in its 86-year existence is one of the most sought after conductors of his generation. Equally at home conducting orchestral concerts and opera, he has a reputation for re-interpreting familiar music in the repertoire to give it new force and freshness, and conducting it with athletic flourish. As musical director of the Teatro Regio of Turin since 2007 Noseda has propelled the opera company to one of the best in Italy, and the hope is that he will have the same success with the NSO.

Earl (Rusty) Powell

Director, National Gallery of Art In a way, this entry is more about past influence because Powell will retire in 2019. “I’ve had a pretty good race here, and it seemed like a logical time [to retire],” said Powell, who turns 75 later this year. “I still have some gas in the tank, and I’m not particularly interested in sitting on the porch looking at sunsets.” Powell became the NGA’s fourth director in 1992. His tenure has been marked by growth in every aspect from the size of the collection and the restoration of the gallery to the number of visitors – 122 million since he took over.

Deborah Rutter

President, Kennedy Center Three years into the job, Rutter has put her stamp on what many regard as the nation’s biggest culture complex, with its multiple performing areas, opera company, resident orchestra and ballet group. The sound of many top Kennedy Center executives from the old management slamming the door as they departed raised some eyebrows in establishment Washington, but Rutter wanted her own team in place to advance her plans for making the iconic center flourish in uncertain times. Big name performers including cellist Yo-Yo Ma, soprano Renée Fleming, world class conductor Gianandrea Noseda, jazz trumpeter Terence Blanchard and rapper/ producer Q-Tip (if you can believe it) add their luster, and the opening later this year of the $120 million extension will add flexibility to the Center in the form of smaller performing areas and more rehearsal space.

David Skorton

Secretary, Smithsonian Institution Skorton oversees 19 museums and galleries, 20 libraries, the National Zoo and numerous research centers. He is responsible for an annual budget of $1.3

billion, 6,500 employees, 6,300 volunteers and 8,500 digital volunteers. At a time when Federal funding for the arts and the humanities are in jeopardy, he has publicly stressed the importance of support for these disciplines as a wise investment in the future of the country.

Molly Smith

Artistic Director, Arena Stage Washington is where President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by a bullet from the stage of a theater, but today the metropolitan area‘s theater scene is safer, larger and has more variety. The intimate Arena Stage, which the talented and enterprising Smith has run for a couple of decades, is typical of the impressive range of choice on offer. In the past year or so, Arena Stage has produced, or has planned, Arthur Miller’s play “The Search,” a revival of “The Pajama Game” and “Snow Child,” a new musical set in Alaska, which not so coincidentally is where Molly Smith started her theater career.

Cardinal Donald Wuerl

Catholic Archbishop of Washington “Unusual for Washington, Cardinal Wuerl doesn’t like the limelight, and he’s not comfortable with the press, but he can be a player behind the scenes,” says Tom Reese, a Jesuit priest who is a District-based senior analyst of the Religion News Service. Another knowledgeable Catholic cleric described the cardinal a bit less kindly as “cautious, very orthodox and a very cagey fellow.” As spiritual head of the area’s 650,000 Roman Catholics (22 percent of the population) the cardinal is hardly a combative prelate. Observers tend to regard him as moderate on most issues. Wuerl is also seen as close to Pope Francis (but then he was also seen as close to Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI). In 2017 Pope Francis appointed him to a key Curial Vatican committee responsible for appointing new bishops.

EDUCATORS John “Jack” DeGioia President, Georgetown University Alumni visiting Georgetown for the first time after a long gap might find that two buildings looked familiar, but their names were not. Each had been renamed in 2017, the first for a slave sold by the Georgetown Jesuits in the 19th century, and the second for a woman of color. This was part of the university’s response to the revelation that slaves had been sold to raise funds for the college in 1838. In apologizing for the action, Georgetown President John DeGioia said slavery was the “original evil of our republic – an evil that our university was complicit with.” Under his direction since 2001, the university – the oldest Catholic college in the United States (1789) – has occasionally earned rebukes from the local hierarchy and from conservative Catholics, but remains consistently ranked as one of the top universities in the nation.

Thomas LeBlanc

President, George Washington University LeBlanc had hardly taken over as president with its sprawling downtown campus in 2017 when he found himself facing problems following a racially offensive media post for which a college sorority took responsibility. “The incident has clearly signaled that racial tension at the university needs to be confronted,” LeBlanc stated in a message to the 11,504-strong student body. “Acts against black students on this campus will not be tolerated.” He introduced mandatory diversity training for incoming students and for the entire college staff. In addition, GW faces the common nationwide problem of lower enrollment by foreigners because the Trump Administration’s new immigration laws have led to tighter

restrictions on student visas. Because foreign students tend to pay full tuition, any reduction in enrollment bites into college income. In 2017, about 78,000 fewer visas were issued to students nationwide, a drop of 17 percent from the previous year and nearly 40 percent from 2015.

Carla Hayden

Librarian of Congress A former Chicago children’s librarian who rose to become president of the American Library Association and to restructure Baltimore’s extensive free library network, Hayden’s appointment to head the nation’s largest repository of books and documents, and the world’s secondlargest (after the British Library in London) represents a number of firsts. She is the first woman and first African American appointed to the post, and the first professional librarian in over 60 years. The job has tended to go to distinguished scholars and philosophers.

Sylvia Burwell

President, American University “I will admit that in November I did not think I would be the one referred to as the first woman president.” So said Sylvia Burwell, referring to Hillary Clinton’s widely presumed election as president. A longtime member of the Clintons’ inner circle, she had been an adviser to Hillary Clinton’s election campaign. Instead Clinton lost, and Burwell was chosen as American University’s first female president. Her ties date back to the Clinton White House where she was deputy chief of staff to the president. Since Trump’s election she has witnessed the Republican assault on the Affordable Care Act, which she had run as Obama’s secretary of health and human services. Of AU she said, “AU’s future is bright,” she says. “Today here the demand for undergraduate admission has never been greater, AU endowment has grown and its financial strength is evident. “