< 25 Top Pension Power Players

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan made his reputation as a deficit hawk. Any attempt to get pension legislation through Congress will be dead in the water without his backing. Given the Republican representative’s willingness to take the ax to veterans’ and federal employees’ pensions in recent years, more of the same is likely in store for the rest of the nation’s workers. The first test will be the position Ryan, 46, takes on a Donald Trump–backed Senate bill to restore pension benefits to thousands of coal miners, who overwhelmingly voted for Trump in states like Kentucky and West Virginia. So far, House Republicans have resisted efforts to shore up the miners’ pensions, which face insolvency. As chairman of the House Budget Committee in the early years of the Obama administration, Ryan headed a controversial bipartisan effort to slash $6 billion from military pensions. — Michelle Celarier

 
The 2017 Pension Political Power 25

1. Andy Puzder Secretary of Labor 2. Bruce Rauner Governor of Illinois 3. Betsy DeVos Secretary of Education Infrastructure Debt Positioned Well for the Year Ahead Sponsored by IFM Investors June 16, 2025 4. Laura & John Arnold Founders, Laura and John Arnold Foundation 5. Steven Mnuchin Secretary of the Treasury

6. Wilbur Ross Secretary of Commerce 7. Tani Cantil-Sakauye California Chief Justice 8. Paul Ryan Speaker of the House 9. Anthony Scaramucci Founder, SkyBridge Capital 10. Kevin de León California State Senator and President Pro Tempore

11. Mike Enzi Chairman, Senate Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security 12. Steve Sweeney President, New Jersey State Senate 13. Jerry Brown Governor of California 14. Corey Lewandowski Co-founder, Avenue Strategies 15. Paul Singer President, Elliott Management Corp.

16. Randel Johnson Senior Vice President, Labor, Immigration, and Employee Benefits, U.S. Chamber of Commerce 17. Joe Manchin U.S. Senator 18. Kenneth Feinberg Founder and managingpartner, Feinberg Rozen 19. Scott Walker Governor of Wisconsin 20. Richard Trumka President, AFL-CIO

21. Mike Rawlings Mayor of Dallas 22. Elizabeth Warren U.S. Senator 23. Kent Mason Partner, Davis & Harman 24. Bernie Sanders U.S. Senator 25. Randi Weingarten President, American Federation of Teachers