Washington
The Wolves of K Street review: how lobbying swallowed Washington
Donald Trump decries the proverbial Washington swamp. Congress does next to nothing. The band plays on: lobbying remains big business. In 2023, the industry hit a $4.3bn payday. This year shows no end in sight to the trend. As the US gallops toward another election, The Wolves of K Street befits the season.
Brody Mullins, a Wall Street Journal investigative reporter and Pulitzer prize winner, and his brother, Luke Mullins, a contributor at Politico, deliver a graduate seminar on how lobbying emerged and became a behemoth, an adjunct of government itself, taking its collective name from the street north of the White House where many of its biggest earners sit.
Smoothly written, meticulously researched, The Wolves of K Street informs and mesmerizes.
“This is a book about men – for they were almost exclusively men – who built K Street,” Brody and Luke Mullins write.
They have produced a tightly stitched, 600-plus-page tome that begins as a true-crime story. The suicide of Evan Morris, a lobbyist for big pharma, takes center stage. In the opening scene of the book, at a posh Virginia golf club on a balmy evening in July 2015, Morris, 38, turns a gun on himself.
The seemingly almost idyllic backdrop to his death is actually a tableau of excess, complete with $150,000 initiation fees, an abandoned Porsche, an emptied bottle of $1,500 bordeaux and a scenic sunset.
Millions of corporate dollars were missing and untaxed. An anonymous letter and an FBI investigation helped ignite Morris’s untimely and violent end.
“The allegations would touch off a years-long case,” the brothers Mullins write.
Morris’s wife and estate settled with Genentech, his employer, the Internal Revenue Service and the commonwealth of Virginia. The government never charged anyone with a crime. Death had taken its toll.
The Wolves of K Street is about way more than just one man. It is an engrossing lesson in how lunch-bucket sensibilities and the accommodation between big business and the New Deal gave way to neoliberalism, corporate activism and the decline of industrial unions.
The Democratic party, to name just one major part of American life, would never be the same again. The Mullins brothers are keenly aware of the social forces that buffet and drive US politics. They recall how Jimmy Carter’s defeat by Ronald Reagan in 1980 left the party of FDR, Truman and JFK to wonder how it was no longer the political home of working-class America. Democrats wonder to this day.
The Wolves of K Street traces how the US reached this point, and lobbying attained its present stature, by following “three lobbying dynasties – one Republican, two Democratic – over the critical period from the 1970s to today, when the modern lobbying industry was created, corporate interests came to power in Washington, and the nature of our economy was fundamentally changed”.
The late Tommy Boggs, son of Hale Boggs, once a Democratic House majority leader, stands out as the patriarch and pioneer of Democratic lobbying. His name came to grace Patton, Boggs and Blow, a storied DC law firm now subsumed in Squire Patton Boggs, a sprawling global entity nominally based in Ohio. Evan Morris stood out as Boggs’s “prized pupil” – or apostle.
Next came the Republicans: Charlie Black, Paul Manafort, Roger Stone and the late Lee Atwater, who would manage the 1988 presidential campaign of George HW Bush.
“[They] used their links to the Reagan revolution to erect Washington’s signature GOP house of lobbying,” the Mullins write. “Each member of the partnership had his own distinct role.”
Together, they bridged the gap between corner offices and the universe of conservative activists. Furthermore, Donald Trump was a client of Black, Manafort and Stone. Stone helped boost Maryanne Trump Barry, the property magnate’s late sister, on to the federal bench.
That history is why Manafort and Stone emerged as part of Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016; why the pair were caught in the special counsel’s net when it came time to investigate Russia’s attempts to help Trump; why they received presidential pardons before Trump left office; and why they stand to be back for one more rodeo as Trump runs for the White House again.
Tony Podesta, brother of the Democratic White House veteran John Podesta, is the keystone of the third lobbying dynasty examined by Brody and Luke Mullins, an “avant-garde political fixer [who] used his experience as a brass-knuckled liberal activist to advance the interests of Wall Street and Silicon Valley”.
The paths taken by Manafort and Podesta would eventually entwine. Out of the limelight, Manafort came to represent the interests of Ukraine’s anti-Nato Party of Regions and its head, Viktor Yanukovych. In 2012, seeking to stave off sanctions, Manafort enlisted Podesta to his cause.
“I used to call them the dynamic duo,” Rick Gates, Manafort’s convicted acolyte, tells the Mullins brothers.
The Wolves of K Street is also newsy, disclosing for the first time Manafort’s attempt to have Yanukovych congratulate Joe Biden in summer 2012.
“I am thinking of recommending a call from VY to Biden to congratulate Biden on his [re-]nomination” as vice-president to Barack Obama, Manafort emailed Gates, who forwarded the note to Podesta. The brother of Bill Clinton’s chief of staff cum Obama counselor approved.
“‘Only downside is [if] biden [sic] presses him personally on politics of criminal prosecutions of his political’ opponents, Podesta responded. ‘I would say worth the risk.’”
The Wolves of K Street ends on a weary note: “No matter what new obstacles have emerged, K Street has always managed to invent new ways to exercise its power over Washington,” the Mullins brothers conclude. “New fortunes to be made, new rules to be broken. New stories to be told.”
One might well reach for Ecclesiastes, son of David: “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.”
After DSA candidates roiled traditional Democrats with wins in New York City last week, Tuesday’s primary in a Denver-centered district tested whether the left wing’s appeal could prevail elsewhere.
It turns out the democratic socialists’ reach extends well beyond New York — and it may well grow before the year is out.
Melat Kiros, backed by the national Democratic Socialists of America and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, upset Rep. Diana DeGette, who has held her reliably blue seat for almost 30 years.
“What we’re seeing right now is the response to voters feeling like the party has not actually been fighting for working people,” Kiros told MS NOW last week.
The result is that Kiros, a critic of the Israeli government and high-ranking Democratic leaders, will likely be a member of Congress come next year. That happened even as DeGette cast the race as a warning, with President Donald Trump’s second term continuing to upend governance from the nation’s capital.
“Now is not the time to gamble and send somebody with no experience to Washington,” DeGette said during a recent candidate forum. “We need a strong, bold, hardened leader who will hold Trump accountable.”
The result was one of several Colorado results Tuesday to test incumbents or prominent statewide officials navigating a turbulent moment in Democratic politics — one in which voters have shown an appetite for untested fighters over familiar faces who’ve served in Washington’s halls of power.
The night’s theme wasn’t clear-cut; the three marquee races diverged on everything from ideology to questions of approach and clout. But each pitted an incumbent whose Congressional ties became fodder for a challenger.
In 2020, Democrats’ ability to woo former Gov. John Hickenlooper into the Senate race was seen as a boon for a party trying to unseat incumbent GOP Sen. Cory Gardner, one of the last Republicans left representing a blue state in the Senate. That move came after Hickenlooper’s 2020 presidential primary campaign fizzled. Even so, he faced a somewhat-competitive primary that year, taking 58.7% to his challenger’s 41.3%. Hickenlooper went on to win the seat that November by a little over nine points.
Photo by Elman Studio.
June 30, 2026 (Washington, D.C.) – The Washington Chorus (TWC), DC’s most dynamic choral ensemble, celebrates its 65th anniversary during the 2026-2027 season. Through thought-provoking pairings of classic major choral works, artistic collaborations, and groundbreaking premieres, TWC celebrates its history of providing an inclusive community where choral music connects, reflects, and inspires everyone while continuing its mission of creating transformative musical experiences that bring people together through the joy of choral music.
“Our 65th season showcases TWC’s commitment to honoring choral tradition while embracing the living voices shaping American music today,” said TWC Artistic Director Eugene Rogers. “We look forward to serving the entire D.C. community, bringing new audiences into our special anniversary celebration through this repertoire and outstanding guest artists.”
The season begins with TWC’s guest appearance with the National Symphony Orchestra for Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, conducted by Gianandrea Noseda at Wolf Trap’s Filene Center on Friday, August 14, 2026 at 8:00 p.m. On Thursday, October 15, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. at Joseph Myerhoff Symphony Hall; Saturday, October 17, 2026 at 8:00 p.m. at Music Center at Strathmore; and Sunday, October 18, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. at Meyerhoff TWC joins Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra for John Adam’s On the Transmigration of Souls as part of the BSO’s Alsop Conducts Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique concert.
The Washington Chorus’s own season kicks off with two weekends of A Candlelight Christmas concerts in December, continuing its beloved holiday tradition now reimagined in new venues across the city. This cherished program brings together The Washington Chorus with the National Capital Brass and Percussion Ensemble, alongside award-winning music director, organist, and conductor Paul Byssainthe Jr., soprano Colleen Daly, and jazz-mezzo Christie Dashiell. The program will also feature the premiere of a new work by Evelyn Simpson-Curenton. Blending timeless carols with vibrant new voices, A Candlelight Christmas offers a warm and luminous celebration of the season – honoring tradition while embracing the rich musical spirit of our community. Venue and performance info are listed below.
In the new year, The Washington Chorus presents A Song Flung Up to Heaven: Honoring 65 Years of TWC on Sunday, February 28, 2027 at 3:00 p.m. at DAR Constitution Hall. The program juxtaposes two major works from contrasting origins – Nkeiru Okoye’s When the Caged Bird Sings and Poulenc’s Gloria – that treat sacred themes with a striking blend of reverence and theatricality. Together, these two major works meld European and American musical traditions into a powerful, life-affirming concert experience with a deep connection to spiritual rituals, while each composer’s innovation imbues them with new discoveries and uncovers mysteries of the human condition.
The centerpiece of this performance is the East Coast premiere of Dr. Nkeiru Okoye’s dramatic work When the Caged Bird Sings – a “musical ceremony” fusing many genres, including opera, musical theater, spoken word, and choral singing, and American musical styles including gospel, spirituals, traditional anthems, and jazz. Okoye’s evocative new piece celebrates the spirit of rising above expectations and transforming adversity into triumph through the milestones in the life of one Black woman. Partly in tribute to the activist and poet laureate Maya Angelou, the work celebrates and explores the transformative ability of the human spirit, commemorating those who have paved a path for future generations. The concert opens with a cornerstone of 20th-century sacred music, Francis Poulenc’s Gloria, which first premiered in 1961, the same year as TWC’s founding.
In May, TWC partners with the National Philharmonic to present Requiem and Renewal featuring Mozart’s monumental Requiem. This will be preceded by Jocelyn Hagen’s large-scale symphonic work, What the Soul Already Knows, on Saturday, May 8, 2027 at 7:30 p.m. at Music Center at Strathmore. Jointly commissioned by Pacific Chorale under the direction of Robert Istad and The Washington Chorus, the work will have its East Coast premiere as part of TWC’s 65th Anniversary Season.
Rooted in an exploration of the sacred – in both the physical world and the unseen – the work invites listeners to reflect on the deep interconnectedness of all life. At its core, What the Soul Already Knows is a meditation on our shared humanity and the potential for beauty that arises when we live in alignment with gratitude, unity, and service. The title received inspiration from the book Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul by Celtic spiritual teacher John Philip Newell, whose writings illuminate the sacred as present not only in heaven, but within the earth and all living beings. Both Hagen’s and Mozart’s works are meditations on the soul in a program that asks: What is the soul, what is sacred, and how should we live – before and beyond death?
Closing the season is a theatrical version of Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and conducted by its Artistic Director Jonathon Heyward on Friday, June 11, 2027 at 8:00 p.m. at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall; Saturday, June 12, 2027 at 6:00 p.m. at Music Center at Strathmore; and Sunday, June 13, 2027 at 3:00 p.m. at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. This staged performance of Verdi’s masterpiece is our third collaboration with Heyward and the BSO’s multi-year Verdi Opera Initiative.
Performance Information
Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony
Friday, August 14, 2026 at 8:00 p.m.
Filene Center, Wolf Trap | 1551 Trap Road | Vienna, VA 22182
Tickets: $57 – $132
Link: wolftrap.org/show/26filene/081426/
Program:
Beethoven – The Consecration of the House – Overture
Beethoven – Elegiac Song, Op. 118
Beethoven – Symphony No. 9
Artists:
National Symphony Orchestra
Gianandrea Noseda, conductor
Tessa McQueen, soprano
Cecelia McKinley, alto
Demetrious Sampson, tenor
Jonathan Patton, baritone
The Washington Chorus
Eugene Rogers, artistic director
_______________________________
Alsop Conducts Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique
Thursday, October 15, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.
Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall | 1212 Cathedral Street | Baltimore, MD 21201
Saturday, October 17, 2026 at 8:00 p.m.
Music Center at Strathmore | 5301 Tuckerman Lane | North Bethesda, MD 20852
Sunday, October 18, 2026 at 3:00 p.m.
Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall | 1212 Cathedral Street | Baltimore, MD 21201
Tickets: Subscriptions are on sale now, with single tickets on sale August 2026
Link: my.bsomusic.org/20342/20381
Program:
Barber – Adagio for Strings
John Adams – On the Transmigration of Souls
Tchaikovsky – Symphony No. 6, “Pathétique”
Artists:
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Marin Alsop, conductor
The Washington Chorus
Eugene Rogers, artistic director
_______________________________
A Candlelight Christmas
Saturday, December 11, 2026 at 3:00 p.m.
Sunday, December 12, 2026 at 3:00 p.m.
Cramton Auditorium, Howard University | 2455 6th St NW | Washington, DC 20059
w/Howard University Chorale
Friday, December 18, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, December 19, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. & 3:00 p.m.
Lisner Auditorium, George Washington University | 730 21st St NW | Washington, DC 20052
Monday, December 21, & Tuesday, December 22, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.
Music Center at Strathmore | 5301 Tuckerman Lane | North Bethesda, MD 20852
Link: thewashingtonchorus.org/2026-27-season
Program:
Evelyn Simpson-Curenton – NEW WORK (World Premiere)
Artists:
Eugene Rogers, conductor
Christie Dashiell, soloist (Dec. 11, 12, 21 & 22)
Howard University Concert Choir (Dec. 11 & 12)
Eric Poole, conductor
National Capital Brass and Percussion Ensemble
Paul Byssainthe Jr., organ & piano (Dec. 18 -22)
Reservoir High School (Dec. 18 & 19)
Gregory Knauf, conductor
South Loudon Youth Chorale (Dec. 21 & 22)
Laura Lazarevich, conductor
_______________________________
A Song Flung Up to Heaven: Honoring 65 Years of TWC
Sunday, February 28, 2027 at 3:00 p.m.
DAR Constitution Hall | 1776 D Street NW | Washington, D.C. 20006
Link: thewashingtonchorus.org/2026-27-season
Program:
Poulenc – Gloria
Nkeiru Okoye – When the Caged Bird Sings
Artists:
Eugene Rogers, conductor
Denyce Graves, narrator
Cyrus Chestnut, piano
Angela Brown, soprano
Christie Dashiell, jazz mezzo
Issachah Savage, tenor
Michael Preacely, baritone
The Washington Chorus
Howard University Chorale
Dr. Eric Poole, director
_______________________________
Requiem and Renewal
Saturday, May 8, 2027 at 7:30 p.m.
Music Center at Strathmore | 5301 Tuckerman Lane | North Bethesda, MD 20852
Tickets: Single tickets are on sale beginning Thursday, July 23, 2026
Link: nationalphilharmonic.org/event/what-the-soul-already-knows-requiem-renewal/
Program:
Jocelyn Hagen – What the Soul Already Knows
Mozart – Requiem in D Minor
Artists:
National Philharmonic
The Washington Chorus
Eugene Rogers, conductor
Rabihah Dunn, soprano
Ashley Dixon, mezzo-soprano
Brian Giebler, tenor
Alan Williams, baritone
_______________________________
Heyward Conducts Verdi’s Requiem
Friday, June 11, 2027 at 8:00 p.m.
Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall | 1212 Cathedral Street | Baltimore, MD 21201
Saturday, June 12, 2027 at 6:00 p.m.
Music Center at Strathmore | 5301 Tuckerman Lane | North Bethesda, MD 20852
Sunday, June 13, 2027 at 3:00 p.m.
Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall | 1212 Cathedral Street | Baltimore, MD 21201
Tickets: Subscriptions are on sale now, with single tickets on sale August 2026
Link: my.bsomusic.org/overview/20358
Program:
Giuseppe Verdi – Requiem
Artists:
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Jonathon Heyward, conductor
The Washington Chorus
Eugene Rogers, artistic director
___________________________
About The Washington Chorus
The Washington Chorus (TWC) is one of the foremost symphonic choruses in the nation and a cultural leader in our nation’s capital—creating joyous and transformative choral music since 1961. TWC is noted for the superb artistry of its performances and recordings of the entire range of the choral repertoire. A three-time nominated and two-time Grammy Award-winner, the 220-voice Chorus presents performances annually across the DMV region. TWC is also a longtime artistic partner and collaborator with many of the nation’s leading organizations and artists, including the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO), National Philharmonic (NatPhil), Washington Performing Arts (WPA), and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO). TheWashingtonChorus.org
About Eugene Rogers
Lauded for leading performances of “pure magic” (Washington Post), conductor Eugene Rogers is at the vanguard of American musicians, recognized for his musical and educational leadership around the world. Rogers is a committed conductor, teacher, arranger, and industry thought leader, championing timely new works, bringing historically overlooked music to life, and supporting next-generation talents.
Rogers is a two-time Michigan Emmy Award winner, a 2017 Sphinx Medal of Excellence recipient, and was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2015. Musical America magazine has named him one of the top music industry professionals, and his work has been profiled on CNN, PBS, and on radio stations and in print and online publications across the world.
Since 2020, Rogers has served as Artistic Director of The Washington Chorus. He is also the Founding Director for EXIGENCE, a professional vocal ensemble affiliated with the world-renowned Sphinx Organization, highlighting artistry within Black and Latinx communities. Alongside his own appearances as guest conductor for orchestra, chorus, and opera, he has also proudly acted as chorus master to leading conductors including Gianandrea Noseda, Marin Alsop, Jonathan Heyward, Joe Hisaishi, and James Conlon.
Rogers is a Professor of Music and the Director of University Choirs at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre, and Dance. He is a former board member of Chorus America and is the former national chair of the Diversity Initiatives Committee for the American Choral Directors Association. Rogers is also active as an arranger, with publications including the Eugene Rogers Choral Series with ECS Publishing and the EXIGENCE Choral Series for Mark Foster Publishing.
WASHINGTON (7News) — D.C. is looking forward to an economic boost from added tourists this summer.
Tourism numbers for the America 250 celebration are looking positive. Hotel bookings are up, as D.C. prepares to celebrate America’s birthday.
The National Mall is ground zero for the 4th of July festivities, with the Folklife Festival, the 4th of July Parade, fireworks and free museums. Plus, this year, there is an extra emphasis on historic and cultural exhibits. 50 million visitors are estimated to inject millions into the local economy.
SEE ALSO | ‘Packed to the brim’: Trump says 45K guests attend Great American State Fair rally
“It’s very hard right now for us to tell you exactly what the economic impact is. overall, events like this, we typically don’t know the impact until after the event has taken place,” said Elliott Ferguson, Destination DC CEO.
According to Destination DC, 27.2 million people visited D.C. in 2025, up 20,000 visitors from the year before. They spent almost $12 billion, bringing in $2.5 billion in tax revenue and creating more than 114 thousand jobs.
SEE ALSO | World Cup delivers win for America’s economy, image
International visitation declined by 4%.
This summer of 2026, hotel bookings are up. More than two dozen hotels have DC250 packages, hoping to attract overnight guests. Luxury hotels are reporting record packages.
Visitors to the District pump billions directly into the local economy, accounting for over $11.4 billion in recent annual visitor spending and generating $2.3 billion in local tax revenue. And there’s a strong demand for the July 4 period.
D.C. has also secured 18 conventions for 2026, estimated to bring in $317(m) according to Exhibitor Online. This influx saves the average D.C. household more than $3,600 in taxes.
“As we look at the events with America’s 250 and the events that this Trump administration is bringing to the city, it has been positive for the industry,” Ferguson added.
Major openings are adding to the expected summer tourism boom, including the National Geographic Museum, renovations to the Air and Space Museum, and the new Lincoln Memorial Undercroft exhibit. The Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C., will take place Aug.22 to 23, 2026, marking the firstever IndyCar series race on the National Mall.
These tourism dollars are critical, saving the average D.C. household more than $3,600 in taxes, as D.C. is facing headwinds from reductions to the federal workforce and commercial real estate challenges.
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