Playbook PM: Knives out for Ron Klain

Jan 21, 2022

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When the going gets tough, blame the White House chief of staff. It happens in virtually every presidential administration at some point. And with the Biden administration's first anniversary in office coinciding with (what the White House should hope is) a polling and political nadir, this week seems to be RON KLAIN's turn in the barrel.

A pair of stories out this morning highlight the gripes about Klain, particularly from moderates in the Democratic Party, with some complaints coming from both within and without the administration:

— NBC's Mike Memoli, Carol Lee, Kristen Welker and Courtney Kube report that much of the consternation turns on the idea "that [President JOE] BIDEN has strayed from his core brand as a pragmatic, empathetic politician who won the Democratic nomination as a moderate willing to compromise." Klain's critics see him and his Twitter account as key culprits, focusing too much on social media, progressives and cable news.

— Chris Cadelago, Laura Barrón-López and Sam Stein find that moderates are fuming over a group of top Biden advisers who are "too insular, rigid, and self-assured." Perhaps more worrisome for Klain, beyond the external sniping, our colleagues report that "inside the administration, morale is sinking," with some officials viewing Klain as both too demanding and too inaccessible.

— The White House defense: NBC writes that top officials think the criticism "doesn't reflect reality," and that Klain has put in place solid decision-making processes. Our POLITICO colleagues report that the White House sees Klain as instrumental in delivering the first year's big victories — and whatever more may come in year two. He still has the support of the president. And NBC reports that he's expected to stay on through the midterms.

THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING AGENDA — As Democrats try to recalibrate through a difficult December and January, many in the party are now scaling back their ambitions, focusing on bills that can actually pass, Burgess Everett and Marianne LeVine report. Taking another crack at Build Back Better or voting rights won't happen anytime soon in Congress. Higher up on the list: a government funding deal, nominee confirmations, and possibly some bipartisan work on China competition, antitrust and a Russia sanctions bill.

— To wit: Speaker NANCY PELOSI sent out a Dear Colleague letter today outlining four areas of bipartisan work: the omnibus, the competitiveness bill, Ukraine/Russia legislation and a bill aimed at providing care to veterans exposed to toxic substances in burn pits. She also said House Dems will "continue to advance the provisions of the Build Back Better Act." Almost nothing on voting rights.

CODE OF SEMICONDUCT — As ambitions get smaller, the prospect of a breakthrough on the China competitiveness bill looks sweeter to Democrats. With a major new announcement today from Intel, the Biden administration had a victory to tout — and a cudgel to wield:

Intel announced it has picked the Columbus, Ohio, area to build the world's largest chip manufacturing complex. The move could have a big impact on addressing ongoing semiconductor shortages, and it's expected to create nearly 12,000 jobs. The Columbus Dispatch's Mark Williams has a detailed look at how the deal came together, and reports that the factories will amount to an initial investment of $20 billion — "the biggest economic development project in state history."

At the White House this morning, Biden celebrated the news as a bipartisan win, with Ohio Sens. ROB PORTMAN (R) and SHERROD BROWN (D) standing behind him: "The idea that we can work together is only just beginning to dawn on people here, I think." And Commerce Secretary GINA RAIMONDO in short order linked the news to solving a laundry list of economic challenges: the supply chain, inflation, manufacturing, jobs and climate change.

But the China competitiveness bill, which would pump $250 billion into high-tech research and manufacturing with a big focus on semiconductors, looks to be a heavy lift in the House: It's stalled amid Democratic disputes over how broad the bill should be, WSJ's John McKinnon and Natalie Andrews report this morning.

Raimondo was blunt from the White House: "Congress needs to pass that bill."

Happy Friday afternoon.

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IT'S OFFICIAL — The Jan. 6 committee has now received hundreds of pages of documents from the Trump White House, per Kyle Cheney, after the Supreme Court this week declined to halt their release.

— Among them, Betsy Woodruff Swan publishes for the first time DONALD TRUMP's never-issued draft executive order that would have seized voting machines (!). She also publishes a never-delivered draft "remarks on national healing" that would have condemned the Jan. 6 insurrection and taken a much different tone than Trump adopted.

POLITICS ROUNDUP

SCOTUS WATCH — Jane Mayer has a buzzy new New Yorker feature that poses its provocative question in the headline: "Is Ginni Thomas a Threat to the Supreme Court?" The article delves into Justice CLARENCE THOMAS' wife's ties to hard-line and dark-money conservative groups. It also raises serious questions about a staggering number of conflicts of interest on the court or appearances thereof, as Ginni Thomas "has held leadership positions at conservative pressure groups that have either been involved in cases before the Court or have had members engaged in such cases." And though Ginni Thomas has longstanding ties to some of the Jan. 6 organizers, Clarence Thomas hasn't recused himself from any cases with links to his wife, posing a possible threat to public perceptions of the court's integrity, Mayer writes.

"The best word to describe her is 'tribal,'" said a member of the Conservative Action Project, of which she's a member. "You're either part of her group or you're the enemy."

2022 WATCH — The DCCC is close to landing a prized recruit for an open swing seat in Michigan's Macomb County: Sterling Heights Mayor MICHAEL TURNER. One hurdle? Until 2020, he was a Republican, and as recently as 2018, he backed GOP challenges to incumbent Dems — which is prompting consternation among the left and local labor groups, report Ally Mutnick and Sarah Ferris. The recruitment effort for the telegenic young attorney "underscores the depth of Democratic efforts to save as many House seats as possible" even in a tough midterms year, but it's also "reopening a debate over how closely Democrats should embrace Republicans who have abandoned the GOP."

WARNING SIGNS FOR TRUMP — The Cook Political Report's Amy Walter is out with a new analysis positing that Trump's "path to a 2024 GOP nomination may not be as smooth as one would assume." She writes that she's hearing notes of ambivalence even from Republicans who like Trump about another presidential bid. And Republican strategists are hearing hesitancy — or at least openness to other contenders — in focus groups.

WARNING SIGNS FOR BIDEN — Black Americans helped power Biden to the Democratic nomination and the White House, but many are feeling frustrated a year into his tenure, reports WaPo's Cleve Wootson Jr., and see him as another "politician who promises to amplify Black voices and issues before Election Day, followed by maddening silence and inaction afterward."

AD WARS — A super PAC aligned with MEHMET OZ in the heated Pennsylvania GOP Senate primary is amending its attack ad against DAVID MCCORMICK after the former hedge fund exec said it lied about Trump firing him, Holly Otterbein reports.

CASH DASH — The Democratic Association of Secretaries of State announced it raised $4.5 million last year, its best fundraising year ever and more than $2 million higher than its 2020 total.

POLITICAL VIOLENCE WATCH — The Justice Department today charged a Texas man with threatening to kill Georgia election officials. CHAD CHRISTOPHER STARK's arrest in Travis County is the first case brought by DOJ's Election Threats Task Force. He allegedly posted on Craigslist seeking someone willing to kill an official for $10,000. CBS' Adam Brewster reports that alleged targets of the threats included Gov. BRIAN KEMP and Secretary of State BRAD RAFFENSPERGER. More from Fox 7 Austin

JOIN NEXT FRIDAY TO HEAR FROM GOVERNORS ACROSS AMERICA : As we head into the third year of the pandemic, state governors are taking varying approaches to public health measures including vaccine and mask mandates. "The Fifty: America's Governors" is a series of live conversations featuring various governors on the unique challenges they face as they take the lead and command the national spotlight in historic ways. Learn what is working and what is not from the governors on the front lines, REGISTER HERE.

AMERICA AND THE WORLD

WITH WAR ON THE HORIZON — Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN and Russian Foreign Minister SERGEI LAVROV agreed today to keep talking in an attempt to keep diplomacy alive despite a lack of breakthroughs on the Ukraine situation. Each side said the ball was in the other's court, as the West tries to prevent a Russian invasion of Ukraine. Blinken warned that any movement of Russian troops across the border "will be met with swift, severe and a united response from the United States and our partners and allies." More from Reuters

— The U.S. is considering evacuating diplomats' family members in Ukraine, Bloomberg's Alberto Nardelli and Nick Wadhams report. A decision could come within days. "A White House official characterized the situation as part of normal contingency planning in case the security situation deteriorates."

PULLOUT FALLOUT — A handful of Afghan evacuees at a U.S. military base in Kosovo could be denied entry to the U.S. after vetting found alleged links to terrorist groups, WSJ's Gordon Lubold and Jessica Donati report. Though the number is fewer than 10, plus another 90 or so who are still being vetted, there's no clear path for what to do with them now. "That presents a legal, humanitarian and diplomatic conundrum for the Biden administration."

THE WHITE HOUSE

HISTORY MAKING — The White House says this is the first ever video footage made public from inside the Situation Room: 15 (anodyne) seconds of Biden's virtual meeting with the Japanese PM this morning.

CONGRESS

BREAK IT UP — As chatter grows about Democrats breaking their BBB agenda into "chunks" that can go up for individual votes, press secretary JEN PSAKI this morning on "The View" said : "When the president says chunks he means like a mountain-sized chunk, everything we can possibly get in this bill to be in the bill."

— Chunks are not sitting well with a demoralized left, which The Daily Beast's Ursula Perano reports thinks it's too early to split up BBB and worries about little getting passed into law.

ECA LATEST — The bipartisan group working to reform the Electoral Count Act is moving full steam ahead, report NBC's Sahil Kapur, Leigh Ann Caldwell and Frank Thorp V, with a virtual meeting planned for next week's recess. But it will still "be a heavy lift and … the next few days may determine whether it's possible."

CLIMATE FILES — House Oversight is broadening its investigation into the oil and gas industry's role in disseminating climate disinformation. The committee asked top companies' board members to appear and testify Feb. 8. More from CNN

STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.

BEYOND THE BELTWAY

THE FUTURE OF ABORTION — Abortion rights advocates are warning blue states: You'll be affected too if the Supreme Court strikes down Roe v. Wade. Alice Miranda Ollstein reports that if conservative states ban abortion, places where it remains legal could see a rush of travelers "overwhelming clinics and delaying timely care for people in those areas," as some already are in the wake of Texas' near-total ban. Meanwhile, as the March for Life takes place this weekend in Washington, "conservative legislatures are coming back into session and rushing to enact a host of sweeping new restrictions and near-total abortion bans."

FOLLOWING THE MONEY — When Washington pumped hundreds of billions of dollars into state and local coffers last year in the American Rescue Plan, it attached few strings. WaPo's Tony Romm takes a look at the myriad ways officials chose to spend the money around the country: Much of the coronavirus aid went to vaccines, schools and helping save businesses, but other portions are building a golf course in Florida and a state prison in Alabama. So even though the ARP is broadly seen as an economic and pandemic success, it "also has created unique ethical and fiscal headaches that loom large to this day."

— And states swimming in cash, thanks not only to the ARP but to the economy, are "proposing tax rebates and bonuses for public workers," reports WSJ's Jimmy Vielkind. Many states are focusing on one-time expenditures out of concern that the money won't last. They're also bolstering reserves, "paying down debts and pension obligations and investing in short-term infrastructure projects."

THE MURDER SURGE — Some local officials and experts are hopeful that stepped-up prevention efforts can turn around the country's homicide spike this year, WaPo's Griff Witte reports. ARP funds, improved data and new programs that have shown promise could combine for "a golden opportunity to break the trend of spiraling violent crime." Though murders are still high in some cities, others — including Boston, Charlotte, Dallas and even St. Louis — saw numbers fall in 2021.

PLAYBOOKERS

WHITE HOUSE DEPARTURE LOUNGE — Maju Varghese, the director of the White House Military Office, is leaving his post today, per CNN's Arlette Saenz. He's also a Biden campaign and Obama administration alum.

TRANSITIONS — Ilya Shapiro is joining the Georgetown Center for the Constitution as executive director and senior lecturer. He most recently has been a VP and director of the Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies at the Cato Institute, and publisher of the Cato Supreme Court Review. Announcement … Nicole Gaouette is joining the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars as VP of external relations. She's a longtime journalist who's reported from more than 50 countries.

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