Inside the Beltway

Template:Maplink Template:Short description "Inside the Beltway" is an American idiom used to characterize matters of greater interest to U.S. federal government officials, contractors, lobbyists, and media personnel, than to their general public. The Capital Beltway (Interstate 495) is a highway that has encircled Washington, D.C. since 1964. Some speakers of American English now use "beltway" as a metonym for federal government insiders (cf. Beltway bandits).<ref>Wall Street Journal: "Why 'inside the Beltway' is a target of populists"</ref> Multiple political columns are titled after the phrase, including the Washington Times,<ref>Washington Times: Inside the Beltway</ref> American University's magazine,<ref>American University: Inside the Beltway</ref> and columnist John McCaslin.

Geographically, Inside the Beltway describes Washington, D.C., and those sections of Maryland and Virginia that lie within the perimeter of the Capital Beltway.

Usage

Reporting in 1975 on the prospect of a reexamination of the Warren Commission's findings concerning the assassination of John F. Kennedy, newspaper journalist Nicholas M. Horrock wrote:

Communities

The following cities and counties are located entirely or partially inside the Beltway:

• Washington, D.C. (all DC land is inside the Beltway; a small portion of the Potomac River that is part of DC is outside the Beltway)
• Alexandria, Virginia (almost entirely)
• Arlington County, Virginia (entirely)
• Fairfax County, Virginia (partially)
• Falls Church, Virginia (entirely)
• Montgomery County, Maryland (partially)
• Prince George's County, Maryland (partially)

See also

• Washington metropolitan area
• Westminster Bubble