K Street’s New Playground Unites DC Power Players Across Aisles

The day Ned’s Club opened in Washington, President Donald Trump dropped a bevy of tariffs, jolting the city’s lobbyists and a capital establishment already reeling from his contentious agenda.

Amid the partisanship, it may come as a surprise that during the club’s four months, Ned’s has become a hot spot for K Street, Capitol Hill, business executives, and artsy denizens to mingle and mix across the divide.

Lobbyists say they love the place, precisely because it’s mostly a retreat from the policy and personality conflicts that mark Trump 2.0. It’s a gathering haunt where the likes of Jeff Miller, the big-donor GOP lobbyist, glides by Heather Podesta and other bold-faced Democrats in the art-bedecked hallways and opulently appointed spaces with roaring 1920s flourishes.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re a Republican or Democrat, media, government, it’s a nice oasis from the normal give and take of our partisan world,” said Brian Ballard, the Republican lobbyist and founder of Ballard Partners, a fast-growing shop with ties to the administration.

Democratic lobbyists have sponsored Republicans to join, and vice versa. They’re wooed more by trivia nights, stand-up comedy, high-end cocktails and sushi, steaks from a Texas ranch, and some 50 hours of live music each week. But in the relationship-driven business of K Street, Washington’s best known multibillion-dollar industry, who you know and socialize with is a currency in the influence world.

“The opportunity to meet new people in a social setting is positive because to really craft enduring policy, that often takes a bipartisan approach,” said Democratic lobbyist Arshi Siddiqui, a former senior aide to then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and founder of Bellwether Government Affairs. Her registered clients include Comcast Corp. and Micron Technology Inc.

The long list of lobbyists hanging out at Ned’s includes Democrats Lyndon Boozer and former Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.) and Republicans Jeffrey Kimbell and Shannon McGahn. Lawmakers, cabinet officials, and celebrities are also regularly there: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.); Health and Human Services adviser Calley Means; Attorney General Pam Bondi; and singer Kid Rock have all been spotted.

Ned’s Club has become a hot spot for the Capital’s political class.

Photographer: Frank Frances/Courtesy of Ned’s Club

“The social interaction is a lubricant. You might find you have common interests and form coalitions or share information,” said Meredith McGehee, a longtime lobbyist for governmental ethics, who is not a Ned’s Club member.

That it happens in an exclusive, members-only space, she added, “gives an advantage to those moneyed interests that can afford to hire lobbyists.”

Of course, only those with a membership, and their guests, have access to the interactions that can build those serendipitous relationships.

The regular membership rate is $5,000 to join and $5,000 annually, though subject to change. The Founders Club membership, with access to a separate dining area, goes for $125,000 to sign up and $25,000 annually as of now.

Joiwind Ronen, executive director of membership and programming at Ned’s Club, stands on a terrace at the club with a view of the Washington Monument.

Photographer: Kate Ackley/Bloomberg Government

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Ned’s Club brings in a variety of musical acts from go go to jazz and a piano player who takes requests. It offers three restaurants and multiple bars, and membership comes with views of the Washington Monument out over the Potomac River.

The club’s elegant style speaks of a bygone era that one regular describes as a scene where you might expect to see James Bond, a nod to the first Ned’s Club in London. The name borrows the moniker of English architect Edwin “Ned” Lutyens, who designed the British ambassador’s residence on Massachusetts Avenue NW.

The diverse membership and social activities give it a modern twist and cool vibe. It doesn’t feel stuffy, or staid, or restrictive like some long-time D.C. insider hangouts the Cosmos Club and Metropolitan Club. Unlike those other places, Ned’s is a for-profit operation.

“I think Washington has been in need of a really good social club that sort of skews a little younger,” said Gloria Dittus, a longtime K Street message-maker and founder of Story Partners, an issue advocacy and communications firm.

Finding Ned’s

From the outside, Ned’s Club is easy to miss.

Sandwiched in the middle of a block on 15th Street Northwest often crowded with tour groups just around the corner from the White House and next door to Podesta’s firm Invariant, the entrance is nondescript.

The narrow, dimly-lit lobby belies the open, high-ceiling and bright spaces above.

The club took over the top floors of the Walker building, once a Riggs Bank, and has festooned the walls with art mostly by women including Deborah Roberts, Judy Chicago, and Patricia Cronin. The artists get a membership, said Joiwind Ronen, the club’s executive director of membership and programming.

Ronen, a former trade association executive, said she was recruited to join the club — the fourth Ned’s in the world, after London, New York, and Doha — and fell for the idea so much so that she went for the job.

The understated entrance to Ned’s Club where inside D.C.'s top lobbyists, lawmakers and other officials mingle over jazz and fine dining.

Photographer: Kate Ackley/Bloomberg Government

Pictures and video are prohibited in the club, and she won’t divulge members. The low-tech, off-record approach forces people to be present and less guarded.

“We really try to make a place that’s interesting, where you bump into people that are different than you and that you can have conversations outside of things that you would talk about at work,” she said.

Ned’s Club said it doesn’t track the percentage of members who are lobbyists but tech, finance, law, politics, and government are the top five sectors members hail from.

Club members may use laptops in the library bar until 5 o’clock. The room draws inspiration from past White House decor with a vintage mantelpiece over a fireplace.

“It’s an interesting nexus of Washington, like political Washington and business Washington,” said Dawson Hobbs, the chief lobbyist for the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America, with offices down the street.

And, he added, “They have the best view in D.C.”