GQ magazine named White House Communications Director Hope Hicks as the “most powerful” person in Washington politics.
The magazine released its list of “The 50 Most Powerful People in Trump’s Washington” on Thursday and Hicks, who has been with President Trump since the launch of his campaign in 2015, ranked No. 1.
“The key to her power? She avoids the spotlight and serves ruthlessly,” GQ said. “It’s been enough to help her evade the wrath of Trump and the scrutiny of the media (if not the growing curiosity of Robert Mueller). Even when scandal inches close, as it did earlier this month when the White House bungled the dismissal of staff secretary Rob Porter—who Hicks was said to have dated—she emerges, influence seemingly intact.”
The magazine quotes White House counselor Kellyanne Conway saying of Hicks, “To the public, she remains in the background. To the president, she is front and center.”
Vice President Mike Pence was listed just under Hicks at No. 2.
Others on the list include CNN’s Jake Tapper, former White House strategist Steve Bannon and the Fox News morning show “Fox and Friends,” a favorite of Trump’s.
