From a cage fight on the White House South Lawn to the Defense Secretary’s call for testosterone testing of the military, a current of masculine energy has been coursing through the nation’s capital this year, including, it would appear, in some high-level personnel maneuvers within the administration.
As we compiled this Most Powerful Women list, we were struck by how much had changed since 2025. Four Cabinet secretaries—all women—as well as the White House press secretary, another woman, are gone from positions they held a year ago. Not one of them so far has been replaced by another woman.
The loss of women in the executive branch is striking, because in every other corner of Washington, an increasing number are at the helm—so many women CEOs and presidents, directors and senior leaders, that it’s a challenge to pare down all the names.
To assemble this list, we reached out to experts in every field, asking which women are making things happen—influencing a piece of the world, pulling levers, building things, bringing people together, effecting change.
Just as their ranks have grown, what we think of as a “powerful” woman has shifted through the years. At one time, it wasn’t unusual for a woman to be considered powerful, or at least important, by virtue of her husband’s position. Think an engaged wife of a senator or philanthropist. That version of power now seems quaint as women are occupying those Senate seats—as well as executive suites, mastheads, and judicial benches—themselves.
Many have also broken out of traditional, institutional ladder-climbing to become their own spheres of influence, creating their own businesses and brands. So our list includes the CEO of a Fortune 500 aerospace company, to be sure, but also a podcaster whose political connections give her access to the White House, as well as lawyers who broke off from Big Law to start a boutique firm.
As always, politics is a major factor—in some cases, the major factor—in any measure of power in Washington. The ever-changing political landscape means this list is constantly churning.
We realize some of the names are lightning rods—highly partisan women in highly partisan times. There are MAGA-aligned women as well as those who fight the Trump agenda every day. We don’t mean to lift up either side or pass judgment on anyone’s accomplishments. We’re simply shining a light on the women wielding power—in some cases, boldly and loudly; in other cases, quietly and with little notice—in the nation’s capital today.
The DC Council member vanquished a half dozen other contenders to win the Democratic nomination for mayor, all but ensuring that the third-generation Washingtonian will next lead the city. The Howard University–trained lawyer knows that one of her chief challenges will be a President who has threatened a federal takeover of DC should the Democratic Socialist become mayor. “As mayor, I’m willing to work with the federal government and, yes, this administration to improve the lives of DC residents,” she says. “I will also stand up to anyone who harms our communities or threatens local autonomy.”
US Senator from Maryland
Prince George’s County Executive
US Representative from Maryland
Lieutenant Governor of Virginia
Prince George’s County State’s Attorney
Democratic Nominee for Mayor of DC
Lieutenant Governor of Maryland
At-Large Member, DC Council
Governor of Virginia
Associate Regional Director, Lands and Planning, National Park Service
Delegate, Fairfax County, Virginia House of Delegates
Floor Director, Office of Majority Whip Tom Emmer
US Representative from Oklahoma
US Senator from Alabama
US Senator from West Virginia; Chair, Senate Republican Policy Committee
US Representative from Massachusetts; House Minority Whip
US Senator from Maine; Chair, Senate Appropriations Committee
US Representative from Connecticut; Ranking Member, House Appropriations Committee
Chief of Staff for US Senator Brian Schatz
US Representative from North Carolina; Chair, House Rules Committee
Chief of Staff, Office of Senator John Boozman
US Senate Parliamentarian
US Representative from Michigan; Chair, House Republican Conference
US Senator from Alaska
US Senator from Washington
US Representative from New York
US Representative from California; Speaker Emerita, US House of Representatives
US Senator from Michigan
US Senator from Massachusetts; Vice Chair, Senate Democratic Conference
If one measure of power in Washington is proximity to the President, few rival Natalie Harp, the White House aide known for her Zelig-like presence by Trump’s side, including on his clandestine flight out of Turkey in July. At 35, she’s responsible for much of what Donald Trump reads—she supplies him with instant printouts of appealing news stories—and much of what he posts on social media. Her worldview is indistinguishable from her boss’s, whom she calls “the Most Consequential President in History,” punctuating the comment to Washingtonian with Trump-style capital letters.
White House Cabinet Secretary
Governor and Vice Chair for Supervision, Federal Reserve Board
Governor, Federal Reserve Board
US Chief of Protocol
Chief Information Officer, Department of Defense
Special and Executive Assistant to the President
Administrator, Small Business Administration
Secretary of Education
Host, “The Katie Miller Podcast” (unofficial White House–aligned podcast)
US Attorney for DC
Secretary of Agriculture
Chair, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
General Counsel, US Trade Representative
First Lady of the United States
Second Lady of the United States
White House Chief of Staff
Founder and President Emeritus, Alliance for Justice
Founding Partners, Katz Banks Kumin
Associate Justice, US Supreme Court
Chief Judge, DC Court of Appeals
Partner and Chair, Supreme Court and Appellate Practice, Williams & Connolly
Partner, ArentFox Schiff
Assistant US Attorney General, Civil Rights
Founding Partners, Dunn Isaacson Rhee
Senior Counsel, WilmerHale
Principal Deputy US Solicitor General
Associate Justice, US Supreme Court
Partner, Hecker Fink
Associate Justice, US Supreme Court
President and CEO, Democracy Forward
Partner and Chair of Supreme Court and Appellate Practice, Cooley
Judge, DC Circuit, US Court of Appeals
Partner, Mayer Brown
President, DC Bar Association; Principal, The Seltzer Law Firm
Partner and Chair, Public Client, Motley Rice
Associate Justice, US Supreme Court
Partner, Wilkinson Stekloff
Kuwaiti Ambassador to the US
Saudi Ambassador to the US
Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
Jordanian Ambassador to the US
European Union Ambassador to the US
President, Marymount University
President, Bowie State University
President, Gallaudet University
President, Washington Teachers’ Union
President, George Washington University
President, Northern Virginia Community College
President, Trinity Washington University
Senior Vice President and Provost, University of Maryland
Provost and Chief Academic Officer, American University
President, Prince George’s Community College
The Chicago native joined Edens when she was 22, a new college graduate planning to stay at the commercial real-estate firm for two years. Thirty-six years later—“Yes, 36,” she says, “which sounds slightly crazy when I say it aloud”—McLean is CEO of the company, now one of the leading owners, operators, and developers of open-air retail and mixed-use spaces around the country, including Union Market. “There is something incredibly rewarding about staying long enough to actually build an institution—to see decisions you made 20 or 30 years ago compound through people, culture, communities, and performance.”
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, FedEx
Founder and CEO, JMA Solutions
Founder and CEO, Trustar Bank
President and COO, Booz Allen
President and CEO, Economic Club of DC
Chair, Women’s Tennis Association
Global Head, Public Sector, Anthropic
Majority Owner, Washington Nationals
CEO, The Business Council
CEO, Google Public Sector
Eastern Region Managing Principal, Baker Tilly
Partner, S-3 Group
President, External Affairs, and CAO, Monumental Sports Entertainment
President and CEO, Siemens USA
Vice President and Market Leader, Cox Communications Northern Virginia
Owner and CEO, Carl M. Freeman Companies
Chair and CEO, Nasdaq
Senior Partner, DC Office, McKinsey & Company
President, General Dynamics Information Technology
Communications Partner, Andreessen Horowitz
President and CEO, RLJ Lodging Trust
Global Co-Chair, Gensler
Founder and Chair, Urban One
President of Business Operations, DC United
Managing Partner, PwC Washington Office
Founder and CEO, Salamander Collection
Owner, Washington Spirit
President and CEO, National Restaurant Association
Founder and Executive Chairman, APCO
Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Chevron
Senior Adviser, Bain & Co.; Member, Board of Directors, Home Depot
Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Hilton
North America Vice Chair and Managing Director and Senior Partner, BCG
President and Vice Chair, Meta
Founder, Chair, and CEO, McKissack & McKissack
CEO, Edens
Chair and CEO, General Dynamics
Founder and Executive Chair, Rand Construction
Partner, Uplands Real Estate Partners
Mid-Atlantic President, CBRE
Chair, President, and CEO, Parsons
CEO, Growth[Period]
CEO, Washington Spirit
CEO and Chair, Accenture
Managing Director, Global Sports Consulting, Secretariat
Founder and CEO, Framebridge
Chair, CEO, and President, Northrop Grumman
Managing Partner, Bain & Co. Washington Office
Interim President and CEO, United Way Worldwide
Goodwill Ambassador, UNHCR
Philanthropist
Chair, KIPP Foundation
Episcopal Bishop of Washington
President and CEO, Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation
Philanthropist
CEO, Case Foundation and Case Impact Network; Chair, National Geographic Society
President and CEO, Global Health Council
CEO, Omidyar Network
President and CEO, Washington Area Women’s Foundation
Vice Chair and Cofounder, Friends of Cancer Research
Philanthropist
President and CEO, Goodwill of Greater Washington
CEO, Nature Conservancy
President and CEO, Capital Area Food Bank
President and CEO, Catholic Charities USA
Cofounder and CEO, Blue Star Families
CEO, National Geographic Society
President and CEO, EqualAI
President and CEO, Greater Washington Community Foundation
President and CEO, Martha’s Table
President and CEO, National Council of Nonprofits
CEO and Executive Director, Permanente Medical Group; President and CEO, Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group; Co-CEO, Permanente Federation
President, Inova Alexandria Hospital; Senior Vice President, Inova
President, National Academy of Medicine
President, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital; Senior Vice President, MedStar Health
Chief of Clinical Enterprise Operations, Inova
President and CEO, Primary Care Coalition
CEO, Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center GW Health
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, MedStar Health
CEO, Nadia Care
President, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
President and CEO, Children’s National
Founder, Chairperson, and CEO, United Therapeutics
Vice Chair, National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology
President, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Virginia
President and Chief Operating Officer, Suburban Hospital
Director, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health
Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health
A graduate of Brown University’s medical school, Minter-Jordan went to business school at Johns Hopkins after becoming a physician, to better understand the healthcare system and become a more effective advocate for patients. The dual track led her to AARP, where she’s been CEO since 2024. “This role gives me an incredible opportunity to represent more than 125 million Americans 50 and older and to help shape how we think about aging and its impact across every industry in our country.”
Senior Vice President, Global Government Affairs and Policy, and Head of Office, Johnson & Johnson
Senior Director and Head of Policy, Government Relations, Nvidia
Vice President, Programs, Conservative Partnership Institute
President and CEO, American Exploration & Production Council
Executive Vice President, Government and Public Affairs, American Beverage
Vice President, US Policy, Coinbase
Head of Federal Government Affairs, Ford Motor Company
Partner, Fierce Government Relations
President and CEO, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Vice President, Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy, Heritage Foundation
President and CEO, News/Media Alliance
Vice President, North America Government Relations and Public Policy, Procter & Gamble
Principal, Washington Council, Ernst & Young
Founder, KAConsulting
Cofounder and Managing Partner, Precision Strategies
President and CEO, Financial Services Forum
President and CEO, Consumer Technology Association
Executive Vice President, Government Affairs and Global Public Policy, United Airlines
CEO, Impact Health Policy Partners
Founder and CEO, Cogent Strategies
President and CEO, Center for Democracy and Technology
Founder and CEO, Ridgely Walsh
President and CEO, National Women’s Law Center
Senior Vice President, North America Public Policy and Government Affairs, PepsiCo
Founder and CEO, Haddad Media; Founder, Washington AI Network
President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
President and CEO, American Gas Association
Chair and CEO, Williams & Jensen
Partner, TDY @ FGS Global
Principal, Crossroads Strategies
Vice President, Global Government and Corporate Affairs, Caterpillar
Managing Principal, Policy and Government Relations, Deloitte
Founder and President, KDCR Partners
Partner, Research, Global Strategy Group
Senior Vice President and Head of Government Affairs and Global Public Policy, Cigna
President, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget
Partner, Tiber Creek Group
Chief Public Policy Officer, HP
CEO, AARP
Director, US Federal Affairs, Netflix
President, General Catalyst Institute
President and CEO, UnidosUS
President, Impact Research
CEO, American Legislative Exchange Council
President and CEO, Groundwork Collaborative
President, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Founder and CEO, Invariant
President, Brookings Institution
Executive Director, DC Policy Center
Senior Vice President, Government and Public Affairs, CVS Health
CEO, Americans for Prosperity
Partner, Akin
President, AFL-CIO
President and COO, Business Roundtable
President and CEO, Bipartisan Policy Center
Senior Vice President, Americas Communications and External Affairs, BP
Senior Director and Lead, Public Policy, Americas, YouTube
President, SEIU
Executive Vice President, Global Public Policy, Corporate and Government Affairs, Warner Bros. Discovery
President, Paladin Global Institute
Vice President, Head of Washington Office, ExxonMobil
Senior Vice President, US Policy and Government Relations, Pfizer
President, Urban Institute
Executive Vice President, Global Government Affairs, American Express
Senior Vice President, Government Affairs, Delta Air Lines
Managing Director, Head of Global Government Affairs, Citigroup
Editor in Chief, Bloomberg Industry Group
Owner and Publisher, Washington Informer
Anchor, “Inside Politics” and “State of the Union With Jake Tapper and Dana Bash,” and Chief Political Correspondent, CNN
President and General Manager, NBC4 and Telemundo 44
Anchor, “Fox News Sunday”
Moderator, “Face the Nation,” and Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent, CBS News
Coauthor, Politico Playbook; Host and Managing Editor, “The Conversation With Dasha Burns”; Global Anchor, Politico
Anchor, “The Source With Kaitlan Collins,” and Chief White House Correspondent, CNN
Staff Writer, The New Yorker
Washington Editor, New York Times
Chief National Security Correspondent, Fox News
Senior White House Correspondent and Co-Anchor, “The Sunday Briefing,” Fox News; President, White House Correspondents’ Association
Editor in Chief, The Federalist
Washington Bureau Chief, Associated Press
Editor in Chief, Washington Free Beacon
Senior Executive Producer, PBS News Hour; Senior Vice President, WETA
Cohost, “All Things Considered,” NPR
President and CEO, PBS
President, MS NOW
Executive Editor, The Atlantic
Washington Managing Editor, NBC News
White House reporter, Wall Street Journal
Publisher, The Bulwark
President and CEO, NPR
Chief Washington Correspondent, The New Yorker
Executive Editor, CNN
National Reporter, Washington Post
Co-Anchor and Co–Managing Editor, “PBS News Hour”
Chief Justice and National Affairs Correspondent, NBC News
Correspondent, “60 Minutes,” and Cohost, “CBS Mornings”
Founder and CEO, Punchbowl News
Staff Writer, The Atlantic
Columnist
Coanchor, “This Week With George Stephanopoulos,” and Chief Global Affairs Correspondent, ABC News
Editor in Chief and Publisher, Vox
CEO, Politico
Podcast Host, “On With Kara Swisher” and “Pivot With Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway”
Publisher and Editor in Chief, The Cook Political Report With Amy Walter
Moderator, “Meet the Press,” NBC News
Interim Director, Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum
Interim Director, Anacostia Community Museum
Director, US Holocaust Memorial Museum
Managing Director, Signature Theatre
Acting Director, National Museum of African American History & Culture
COO, Wolf Trap
Director, National Museum of the American Indian
Director, National Gallery of Art
Founder and CEO, Planet Word
President and Executive Director, National Building Museum
Director, National Museum of American History
Director, Smithsonian American Art Museum
President and CEO, Strathmore
Assistant Secretary for Communications and External Affairs and Chief Marketing Officer, Smithsonian
Cofounder and Director, Glenstone
Undersecretary for Science and Research, Smithsonian
Artistic Director, Washington National Opera
This article appears in the October 2026 issue of Washingtonian.