1. CQ | MAY 23, 2016 13
INFLUENCERS |||
Sen. Bob Corker, chairman of the Foreign
Relations Committee, has big ambitions to
overhaul congressional oversight of U.S. for-
eign policy. Getting people to pay attention
to the Tennessee Republican’s proposals, in
a competitive media environment, is Micah
Johnson’s job.
Corker’s new communications direc-
tor says her boss, despite his penchant for
wonky ideas, shouldn’t be underestimated.
He’s also demonstrated the ability to get
long-shot, big-ticket items passed, such as
last year’s law that gave Congress the power
to review President Barack Obama’s nuclear
deal with Iran.
“If he has to use all of his political capital
finding a solution, he is happy to do that and
he is willing to take the blame when things
go poorly, and he is willing to let someone
else take the credit when they go well,” she
says.
Congress did review the deal. Corker vot-
ed against it last year, but Republican sen-
ators failed to get the 60 Senate votes they
needed to block it from going forward.
Johnson says her job allows her to “dig
a few feet in on” the many different topics
Corker is focusing on, including bills to re-
authorize State Department functions that
have gone years without congressional re-
view, revamp global food-aid programs and
combat modern-day slavery.
“Making sure that you are adapting to the
constant changes that are occurring in how
people get information to ensure that your
message is breaking through, I think, has
become more complex and more important
than ever,” says Todd Womack, Corker’s
chief of staff. He adds that Johnson has the
experience to do just that.
Johnson has been with Corker’s office
almost continuously since she landed an in-
ternship with the Tennessee Republican the
summer of 2009 before her senior year of
college as a business major at the Universi-
ty of Tennessee. She only left briefly, earlier
this year, to work as a regional spokesperson
for Florida GOP Sen. Marco Rubio’s presi-
dential campaign in January and February.
When Corker’s then-communications
director Tara DiJulio left earlier this year for
a job at General Electric, the senator asked
Johnson if she would return.
Johnson is well known among Capitol
Hill flacks from her service on the executive
board of the Senate Press Secretaries Asso-
ciation.
— Rachel Oswald
Tennessee
Titan
FOREIGN POLICY
JohnMonsif
NEW JOB: Vice president of government
relations at First Focus, which advocates
for children’s welfare on Capitol Hill.
OLDJOB: Chief of staff for Democratic
Rep. John Delaney of Maryland and senior
director of government relations at Save
the Children Action Network.
ORIGIN STORY:
From Greenwich,
Conn., Monsif, 41,
began his career
working in sales.
In his 30s, after
traveling, he de-
cided he wanted
more fulfilling work and sought employ-
ment on Capitol Hill.
QUOTE OF NOTE: “I felt proud work-
ing for children, as an area, because they
don’t have advocates and they need a
voice.”
— Hugh Ferguson
LOBBYING
FINANCE
BradMiller
NEW JOB: Executive director of the
American Association of Credit Union
Leagues.
OLDJOB: President and CEO of Palmet-
to Cooperative Services, a service provider
for credit unions.
ORIGIN STORY:From Montana, Miller,
51, has spent his
career in finan-
cial services, but
says he’s most
comfortable with
credit unions be-
cause they serve
members, rather
than shareholders.
QUOTE OF NOTE: “I’m a big believer in
the power of cooperation to attain signif-
icant results and I subscribe to the notion
that if you want to be incrementally better,
be competitive, but if you want to be expo-
nentially better, be cooperative.”
— Michael Teitelbaum
MICAH JOHNSON:
Long tenure with Corker
TomWilliams/CQRollCall