Washington is under the influence of working mothers who are shaping policy and our children’s future because of jobs they do at the very top of the Capital’s elite. They make up the Working Mother list of Most Powerful Moms in Washington, a list that can change with every shakeup, primary, election or poll.

The women on this list are major power players—whether they are in the Senate, holding a critical post in Obama administration or in a leadership role in the Pentagon. To be selected, a mom must have at least one child 18-years-old or younger. Finally, we have not selected these women based on their political positions, but rather based on their power and reach at this time.

See the 2011 Most Powerful Moms in Washington, DC In Pictures

Several of these power moms are at the epicenter of the White House. Nancy-Ann DeParle, now the Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy in the Obama administration, has played a key role in leading health care reform. Samantha Power, Special Assistant to President Barack Obama, has been an important voice in getting the president to intervene militarily in Libya. And First Lady Michelle Obama, while not a salaried official, has set a concrete agenda since entering the White House that includes fighting obesity. She is also one of the most visible moms in the country and undeniably has the ear of the president.

There are several groundbreakers on this list, including Michèle Flournoy, one of the highest-ranking women in the history of the Pentagon (insiders speculate she could become the first female defense secretary). Flournoy is often called the “brain” of the Pentagon, and is a leading force behind new military strategy. Dr. Margaret Hamburg, currently the Commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration, is the second woman in the agency’s over 100-year history to be at the helm. Concerned with amount of food and drugs entering the US from overseas, Hamburg is concentrating her efforts on instituting a global data information system so regulators from around the world can communicate.

Key women in the US Senate have made our list—many of them putting the needs of families and children at the top of their policy agenda. Kirsten Gillibrand, the junior Senator from New York, worked on legislation that cracked down on illegal guns. Senator Amy Klobuchar from Minnesota has focused efforts on childhood safety. Alaska’s Senator Lisa Murkowski is fighting for more free meals for school-aged children. And Senator Mary Landrieu from Louisiana has actively lobbied for funding the needs of children in foster care.

Thanks to the women on this list, having a woman president in the near future is increasingly probable. Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is in the running to be the Republican nominee for President in 2012. And Senator Amy Klobuchar was mentioned in the New York Times as one of 17 women most likely to become the first female President of the United States.

And if one of them does not make it to The Oval Office, Tiffany Dufu, President of The White House Project says: "These working mothers are inspiring our next generation of women leaders to join them at the top.”