Daily Digest 2/24/2018 (The Most Powerful People In Trump’s Washington)

Running the resurgent Post, Baron today commands more journalistic firepower than any editor in town. And he uses it: upending Alabama's 2017 Senate race (uncovering Judge Roy Moore's troubling history with young women) and gobbling more than his share of Trump-era scoops.

President Donald Trump calls her “a third-rate reporter.” [It takes third-rate to know third-rate.] Her colleagues call her the best journalist on the White House beat—something that even President Trump seems to realize, since he grants her more interviews than just about anyone (Sean Hannity not included).

Back in the day, being Google's top lobbyist seemed like a pretty plum gig. After all, everybody in town wanted to be aligned with the tech darling. Now that Washington thinks Silicon Valley could use a bit of regulating—on everything from anti-trust issues to sex trafficking—the work has gotten trickier. This has only made Molinari, a former Republican member of Congress, more important in Washington. And not just on the policy points. “What distinguishes Susan,” says Erin Egan, an exec in Facebook's DC office, “is her work to recruit and mentor the next generation of women in technology.”

The ambitious 45-year-old led the charge to repeal net neutrality, gutting regulations for Internet providers and giving new powers to big broadband companies. And in true Trumpian fashion, he made his case by releasing a viral Internet video in which he dressed up as Santa Claus, played with a fidget spinner, and generally trolled his critics. The deregulation move earned him the adoration of Internet companies (and reportedly a few death threats). This year, he'll find himself at the center of a new debate: whether the government, for national-security reasons, should take over 5G networks. The big telecom firms, of course, oppose the idea. So does Chairman Pai, naturally.

To the vexation of the White House staff, Trump spends many evenings gabbing on the phone with a kitchen cabinet of rich-guy pals—fellas like Ruddy, who now enjoy incredible access to a famously impressionable POTUS. What's that like? To find out, we gave Ruddy a ring. Just like Trump does.

GQ: Are you scared that one night on the phone, you might offer some throwaway line about North Korea and wake up to discover you've dictated foreign policy?

CR: I'm not scared about anything I say, but sometimes I might say something in confidence. The president doesn't have a lot of filters. He's candid oftentimes with what people tell him with other people, and sometimes you don't necessarily want that shared.

GQ: So, just to be clear, you're saying the president's a leaker?

CR: No. He speaks his mind. He's a political genius.

Once a notorious boys' club, Politico is flexing more muscle than ever under Budoff Brown, who runs the agenda-setting newsroom and the lucrative subscription business that keeps the city's influence industry in the know.

That old adage about the revolution not being televised? Rings true. But it might be podcasted. Helmed by former Obama aides—Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Dan Pfeiffer, and Tommy Vietor—Pod Save America has become the voice of the Resistance. Once the hosts had the ear of the POTUS; now they've got the earbuds of 1.5 million liberal listeners. Which is why it seems like every ambitious Democrat wants to be booked as a guest on their show.