# Yousef Al Otaiba UAE Ambassador to the United States and Minister of State — described by HuffPost as "the most powerful man in Washington you've never heard of." Otaiba oversees the UAE's $157 million+ [[FARA]]-registered lobbying operation (24+ firms, 10,000+ political contacts in 2020-2021 alone) and maintains personal relationships with key figures in both parties that give the UAE unparalleled access to U.S. policymaking. His lobbying was instrumental in shaping Trump's anti-[[Qatar]] stance during the 2017 blockade and in advancing the Abraham Accords. ## Influence Operations - Pressured the White House so aggressively on Egypt policy that he became known as "Sisi's ambassador" - Central to UAE efforts during the 2017 Qatar blockade — coordinated with [[Tom Barrack]] and informal backchannels - Played key role in Abraham Accords negotiations as UAE diplomatic lead - Oversees a network that includes 280+ retired American military officers authorized to work for the UAE, including former Defense Secretary [[James Mattis]] - A U.S. intelligence report found the UAE "worked throughout multiple administrations to take advantage of vulnerabilities in the U.S. government, including a reliance on campaign contributions, its predisposition to lobbying firms and lax enforcement of disclosure laws" ## See Also - [[UAE]] - [[Tom Barrack]] - [[Jared Kushner]] - [[Elliott Broidy]]