Today GQ released their most recent list of the 50 Most Powerful People in Washington. It comes as no surprise that Pat Leahy cracked the top 20 — in fact, he’s tied with Henry Waxman at #18.

What is a surprise is that the editors at GQ seem to believe 17 other people inside the Beltway carry more weight than Leahy and Waxman combined. But then, they’re New Yorkers, and VDB bears with them. The though, is choice:

18. HENRY WAXMAN
68
Chair, House Oversight and Reform Committee

PATRICK LEAHY
67
Chair, Senate Judiciary Committee

Since taking charge of two of Congress’s most oversight-minded committees in January, these two have demanded accountability from people who had grown accustomed to skirting it. They’ve launched hearings into every scandal, including the Valerie Plame leak, the CIA’s overseas prisons, the Jack Abramoff affair, FEMA’s response to Katrina, and the U.S. Attorney firings. By March, his third month as chairman, Waxman and his Democratic colleagues had conducted a staggering one hundred investigative hearings. And according to Senator John Kerry, “Pat Leahy is one of the toughest, most effective guys in the Senate. You don’t get Dick Cheney to lose his cool for nothing.” Go fuck yourself, indeed.