The 2017 Pension Political Power 25: Elizabeth Warren

Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren is one of her party’s fiercest opponents of the Republican agenda on retirement, which ranges from privatizing Social Security to cutbacks in pension benefits. And with key pension issues coming down the pipeline, she’s the leader workers expect to fight in their corner, as she did last year when she came out against Goldman Sachs Group and Northern Trust Corp. for charging fees on the Teamsters’ Central States Pension Fund when it was facing insolvency. As a populist counterpoint to Donald Trump, she’s among the few capable of mobilizing crowds that could force the GOP to reconsider its policies. Warren, 67, who recently announced that she will run for reelection in 2018, sits on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and has been talking about the retirement crisis almost since she joined the Senate, in 2011. Her signature accomplishment, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, shows her understanding of the complex financial issues facing middle-class voters. One of the Democrats’ most prodigious fundraisers, Warren is widely considered a potential presidential candidate for 2020. — Michelle Celarier

1. Andy PuzderSecretary of Labor2. Bruce RaunerGovernor of Illinois3. Betsy DeVosSecretary of Education4. Laura & John ArnoldFounders, Laura and John Arnold Foundation5. Steven MnuchinSecretary of the Treasury

6. Wilbur RossSecretary of Commerce7. Tani Cantil-SakauyeCalifornia Chief Justice8. Paul RyanSpeaker of the House9. Anthony ScaramucciFounder, SkyBridge Capital10. Kevin de LeónCalifornia State Senator and President Pro Tempore

11. Mike EnziChairman, Senate Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security12. Steve SweeneyPresident, New Jersey State Senate13. Jerry BrownGovernor of California14. Corey LewandowskiCo-founder, Avenue Strategies15. Paul SingerPresident, Elliott Management Corp.

16. Randel JohnsonSenior Vice President, Labor, Immigration, and Employee Benefits, U.S. Chamber of Commerce17. Joe ManchinU.S. Senator18. Kenneth FeinbergFounder and managingpartner, Feinberg Rozen19. Scott WalkerGovernor of Wisconsin20. Richard TrumkaPresident, AFL-CIO

21. Mike RawlingsMayor of Dallas22. Elizabeth WarrenU.S. Senator23. Kent MasonPartner, Davis & Harman24. Bernie SandersU.S. Senator25. Randi WeingartenPresident, American Federation of Teachers