1) Don’t be late to the party
“If you’re doing it now, you’re kind of too late,” Roman says of efforts to schmooze key Democrats who have made it into both the Senate and House this week. The British Embassy has, he says, already been doing its homework, tracking potential Democratic Party contenders throughout the year in anticipation of a wave.
But there’s stiff global competition to build those links first. “The French competitors, the German competitors, the Korean competitors — each embassy is trying to build a network that allows them a level of access,” he says.
In addition to the embassy in D.C., Britain uses its eight U.S. consulates — strategically placed across the country — to help it identify rising politicians outside Washington.
As Roman puts it: “Real politics in America happens in America, out in the states, out in the districts. Knowing those Senate hopefuls ahead of time is always the name of the game.”
2) Don’t put all your eggs in one basket
Roman worked under former British Ambassador Karen Pierce, whose team invested considerable effort in cultivating relationships with Trump’s circle during the Biden administration.
Roman believes that work paid “dividends” for Britain in the years that followed, including in landing a U.K.-U.S. trade deal as Trump slapped tariffs on a host of allies.