Inviting key players from politics, the media, and public service has been a hallmark of the Institute of Politics (IOP) at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government for more than 50 years. Each semester, students are able to interact with IOP Fellows, professionals fresh from their work in public service, journalism, political campaigns, and even elected office.
IOP Director Setti Warren introduced the spring 2025 on Feb. 12 at the John F. Kennedy, Jr. Forum, where they gathered for a wide-ranging discussion about issues affecting the United States and the world, with each fellow having the opportunity to address key issues of the moment through their expert lens.
Ann M. Simmons, the Moscow bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal, was asked about President Trump’s reported discussion with Russian president Vladimir Putin and the release of Marc Fogel, the American history teacher held in a Russian prison since 2022.
“His release was not only remarkable, but symbolic in the sense that it really has marked a kind of a pivot point in relations between Russia and the U.S.,” Simmons said.
Simmons said the prisoner exchange, coming just three weeks into Trump’s second administration, could signal the beginning of renewed communication between the two countries, with a possible summit on the horizon. She also addressed the reports of an extended phone conversation between the two leaders around the war on Ukraine.
“I think we are at the beginning of the end of the Ukraine war,” she said. “I can see that probably within the next two to three months, possibly, there may be some kind of peace deal secured.”
Eric D. Hargan, who served as the deputy secretary of HHS from 2017 to 2021 during President Trump's first term, was asked by Warren about the appointment of Robert F. Kennedy as secretary of the Health and about how Kennedy may handle the agency.
Despite the controversies surrounding his nomination, Hargan said he saw positive potential in a Kennedy appointment. “[Kennedy] has, in many ways, a very normal focus in public health, which is chronic illness, particularly children’s chronic illnesses,” Hargan said. "That cluster of problems, everything from obesity to metabolic syndrome, hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, those issues are really where most of the suffering and most of the spending takes place in the United States on healthcare.”
Describing the size of HHS, with 13 operating divisions and a proposed budget of over $1 trillion, he cautioned that the new director would need to remain focused.
“If [Kennedy] sticks with his announced focus, particularly with regard to children’s chronic illness, he can make a big impact,” he said.
Julie Su, who served in the Biden administration as the acting secretary of labor, said she was concerned about the future of a pivotal Biden economic vision—one in which workers come first—that she hopes will continue.
“It was a whole economic strategy around how we use federal dollars and invest in communities, how we develop an industrial policy that will help revive communities across the country and create good jobs,” said Su. “But the first three weeks do not bode well for working people in terms of the policies that have already been put in place and the attack on institutions that defend vulnerable workers.”
Brittany Shepherd, a national political reporter at ABC News, spoke about the changing media landscape. She described the White House press room where the theme of the briefing, and ultimately the top news stories, can be set by the news outlet who gets the first question. “Traditionally, that front row is for big cables and news networks and people with seven-figure salaries, and the newswires,” Shepherd said.
“But I see the intention of the Trump administration,” she continued. “Let’s democratize the process, throwing all the seats up in the air for what they’re calling ‘new media.’ Now you have blogs and influencers, and Canadians are leading that discussion,” said Shepherd.
“It presents a lot of opportunity, a lot of fear, and I think it challenges us in the traditional media and the mainstream media to rethink whose stories we’re telling.”
Ryan Dollar, the general counsel of the National Republican Congressional Committee, led the legal efforts for U.S. House Republican campaigns for the 2025-2026 election cycle. He worked to get Republicans elected to the Senate amid these changes in the media, especially in political advertising.
“Something I think kind of flew under the radar,” he said, “is that the Federal Election Commission issued some rulings and that has encouraged and incentivized the party structures themselves to do more with candidates,” Dollar noted.
Addressing a major change in the relationship between Super PACs and campaigns, Dollar said it has strengthened the power of political parties. “Last cycle, the Federal Election Commission gave the green light to candidates to call up a super PAC and ask, ‘Where are you guys going to knock on doors?’ It’s really changed the paradigm. I envision this upcoming cycle, the super PACs doing more than just TV advertising.”
On the other side of the aisle, Michael Donilon, a former senior advisor to President Biden, reflected on what a second Trump presidency means to the Democratic party.
“I think right now the party is focused on the question of: ‘How do we win?’ And I don’t really think that’s where we should be,” he said. “We need to make a stronger argument about how you can not only secure the border, but that in fact, immigration is a real net plus for the country. We need to make the case for DEI; it is actually how you access all the talent in this country. We have to press very hard on our view about what we see as the limits of presidential power, how that impacts lives.”
Dollar admitted it would be a challenge, but one he believes is worth taking on. “I know there’s a view that [the election] was a blowout. It wasn’t. And this is a closely contested country, and we’ve been in the middle of that for a long time, and the country has gone through very difficult changes.”
The entire conversation is . Future Forum discussions can be found at the .
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Banner image: (left to right) Setti Warren, the director of the IOP; Spring 2025 Resident Fellows Ann M. Simmons; Michael Donilon; Ryan Dollar; Eric D. Hargan; Brittany Shepherd; and Julie Su. Photographs by Martha Stewart.