The press abides

Nov 14, 2022 View in browser   By Eli Stokols , Jonathan Lemire and Alex Thompson Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. With help from Allie Bice.   Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Eli President Joe Biden speaks during a news conference on the sidelines of the G-20 summit meeting. | Alex Brandon/AP Photo When PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN stepped to the presidential lectern on a Balinese patio festooned with fringed illuminated umbrellas Monday night, he delivered a clear message: this aggression will not stand, man. That message wasn't for China's XI JINPING. It was for the White House press corps. "There are going to be four questioners, but I'm not going to do 10 questions from each questioner," he said. Five days ago, when he began the Q&A portion of his post-election press conference , Biden had tried to impose order. He noted that the 10 reporters he planned to call on "were supposed to ask me one question." But, to some light laughter, he conceded, "I'm sure you'll ask me more." Sure enough, no reporter asked fewer than two questions. Several asked three, and a couple were bold enough to ask four. Another deadpanned he had "37 questions," before asking two. Giddy as the White House was about the midterm elections, many staffers were also frustrated that the press conference became a free-for-all. Biden, who had a hard out because of a call shortly after with House GOP Leader KEVIN MCCARTHY, only got through nine of the 10 reporters on his list. Some journalists shared the staff's frustration that those called on, most notably the television correspondents, asked so many questions, eliminating the chance that they could get a stray one in. There was even some chatter about getting the White House Correspondents Association to intervene with new guidelines for those exceedingly rare press conferences, so that opportunities to pose the president a question are more evenly distributed. The organization has stayed out of it. On Monday night at the G-20 summit in Bali, Biden himself took a stand. He made sure that his request for reporters to stick to a single question was not a joke – saying, essentially, there are rules . Throughout the day, the White House sent subtle but clear signals the press conference in Indonesia would look different than last week's. Rumors circulated that most questions would go to outlets that did not get a chance to ask one a few days prior; and that, therefore, TV outlets were likely to be avoided. As the day went on, White House press aides kept tabs on which reporters would be in the post-Xi news conference. Some who got questions said that staffers reached out to them during the day, as well. Moreover, White House staffers made sure a few reporters – all of whom got questions – had prominent seats near Biden's podium and along an aisle, allowing a staffer to bring them a microphone. Breaking with the tradition of calling first on the Associated Press, Biden began with the Wall Street Journal – the outlet that had been No. 10 on his list last week. Two of the four outlets that got questions Monday were also called on last week (AP and Reuters, both of which, an administration official said, were less flagrant about stretching out their questioning). Given how much money television networks spend to send large crews to cover the president's international trips – a one-way charter flight between Phnom Penh and Bali ended up costing more than $5,000 per seat – Biden's snubbing of TV row would normally trigger an avalanche of grievance. But that wasn't the case this time. According to several reporters in Bali, there were scattered grumbles from the TV correspondents afterward but they were relatively muted. Biden did respond briefly to a question NBC's PETER ALEXANDER shouted as the president ended the press conference. Biden — who acknowledged he was battling a cold — kept his answers short and seemed intent on not making much news. The news conference was held outdoors in Bali's sweltering heat and humidity and most present, our JONATHAN LEMIRE reported, were likely grateful for the event to end so everyone could go find air conditioning. At the end of the day, they are all still in Bali, as Biden noted just before departing. "I guess all of you are going swimming from here," he said. MESSAGE US — Are you LUCAS ACOSTA, director of broadcast media? We want to hear from you! And we'll keep you anonymous. Email us at westwingtips@politico.com .   POLITICO APP USERS: UPGRADE YOUR APP BY DECEMBER 19! We recently upgraded the POLITICO app with a fresh look and improved features for easier access to POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Starting December 19, users will no longer have access to the previous version of the app. Update your app today to stay on top of essential political news, insights, and analysis from the best journalists in the business. UPDATE iOS APP – UPDATE ANDROID APP .     POTUS PUZZLER A more open ended question for today's trivia: Why is the Oval Office oval? (Answer at the bottom.) The Oval RUN IT BACK: Our JONATHAN MARTIN  scoops this afternoon that Biden has told House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that he wants her to "stick" around in the next Congress. She's currently weighing whether to do so. CALLING ON CONGRESS: The White House urged lawmakers Monday to pass an assault weapons ban, following a shooting at the University of Virginia that left three dead and two injured. "Biden signed the most significant gun safety law in nearly three decades, in addition to taking other historic actions. But we must do more," White House press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE said in a statement. "We need to enact an assault weapons ban to get weapons of war off America's streets. House Democrats acted, and the Senate should follow." KEEPING IT REAL: Biden expressed doubts that Democrats will maintain the majority in the House during his news conference in Bali. "I think it's going to be very close, but I don't think we're going to make it," he said. Over the weekend, the Democrats solidified their majority in the Senate after Sen. CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO (D-Nev.) won reelection. The president also said Democrats are unlikely to have enough votes to codify Roe v. Wade. "I don't think there's enough votes to codify unless something happens unusual in the House," Biden said. Our KELLY HOPPER has more details. A VERY IMPORTANT MEETUP: Our Jonathan Lemire dispatches from Indonesia that Biden and Chinese President XI JINPING met Monday for nearly three hours to reach a common ground amid tensions between the two nation's and over China's intentions toward Taiwan. Biden left the meeting optimistic, saying that he believed a conflict between the powers can be avoided. MORE FROM THE GROUND: When a television producer asked Biden a question ahead of his meeting with Xi about whether he planned to raise human rights in his talks, a man wearing a face mask with a Chinese flag "yanked the producer backwards by the backpack," according to a White House press pool report. "She lost balance without falling and was pushed toward the door. Two White House staff members intervened saying the producer should be left alone." PSAKI BOMB: Former White House press secretary JEN PSAKI tweeted her take on the concerns about Biden's age and a 2024 run: Tweet by Jen Psaki | Twitter THE BUREAUCRATS FIRST IN WEST WING PLAYBOOK: CHAD METZLER has left the White House, where he was a special assistant to the president for legislative affairs on the Senate team, our DANIEL LIPPMAN has learned. Before joining the White House, Metzler worked for Sen. ANGUS KING (I-Maine), the Senate Aging Committee, and former Sen. HERB KOHL (D-Wis.). He is now federal government relations director at Land O'Lakes. Lippman also reports: — BRENDAN COHEN is now director of digital strategy at the Department of Commerce. He is the former deputy platforms director at the White House. — SHANA MANSBACH is now speechwriter and senior adviser to the secretary at the State Department. Mansbach, a former director of speechwriting for Speaker NANCY PELOSI, most recently was deputy director of communications for Pelosi and is an Obama State Department alum. ICYMI: Customs and Border Protection Commissioner CHRIS MAGNUS resigned over the weekend, following a POLITICO report last week that he was asked to leave or be fired. Lippman has the details of his resignation here. Filling the Ranks NEW NOMINEE ALERT: Biden announced the nomination of MARTIN GRUENBERG to serve as the chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Gruenberg, currently the acting chairman, joined the board in 2005. KATE DAVIDSON has more on his nomination. Agenda Setting GETTING A GRIP ON CRYPTO: Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair ROSTIN BEHNAM said Monday that lawmakers should move "urgently" to create a digital assets regulatory framework after the FTX fallout. "We don't have the luxury of time anymore," Behnam said during a conference in Chicago. "I don't know how big or small it's going to be and what the impact will be. But I don't think that's a risk that anyone in this room wants to take or should want to take, and I hope Congress will recognize that and move quickly." Our DECLAN HARTY has more for Pro subscribers.  ABOUT THAT STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS… After the blocking of the Biden administration's student loan forgiveness plan, some are calling on the president to delay the restart of student loan payments Jan. 1 as officials work things out, MICHAEL STRATFORD reports. Biden's student debt relief was put on pause last week after a federal judge in Texas ruled it to be illegal, but officials have maintained that they'll move forward with it upon ironing out the legal kinks. A federal appeals court on Monday also blocked the program , adding to the administration's legal hurdles. What We're Reading White House to seek more covid funding in lame-duck session (WaPo's Dan Diamond) CIA Director Bill Burns met with Russian counterpart Monday (CNN's Alex Brandon) 'Here comes the bride': White House to host its 19th wedding (AP's Darlene Superville) An Emboldened Biden Now Faces a Tough Choice About His Own Future (NYT's Peter Baker) What We're Watching Transportation Secretary PETE BUTTIGIEG on "NBC Nightly News with LESTER HOLT," 6:30 p.m. EST ( NBC published an early clip here ) Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER is set to appear on "The RACHEL MADDOW Show" tonight at 9 p.m. EST Chief of staff RON KLAIN will be on "The Last Word with LAWRENCE O'DONNELL" tonight at 10 p.m. EST The Oppo Book While in high school, Pete Buttigieg wrote a three-page essay praising the work of Sen. BERNIE SANDERS (I-Vt.) that won a contest. Sanders' "energy, candor, conviction, and ability to bring people together stand against the current of opportunism, moral compromise, and partisanship which runs rampant on the American political scene," Buttigieg wrote in 2000 . "He and few others like him have the power to restore principle and leadership in Congress and to win back the faith of a voting public weary and wary of political opportunism." Big praise for someone who would become his political opponent years later. Read the whole essay for yourself here.   GO INSIDE THE MILKEN INSTITUTE FUTURE OF HEALTH SUMMIT: POLITICO is featuring a special edition of our "Future Pulse" newsletter at the 2022 Milken Institute Future of Health Summit from Dec. 6 to 8. The newsletter takes readers inside one of the most influential gatherings of health industry leaders and innovators solving the biggest global health issues to ensure a healthier, more resilient future for all. SUBSCRIBE TODAY TO RECEIVE EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE .     POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER Upon President WILLIAM TAFT's inauguration, he "held a competition to select an architect to enlarge and make permanent the West Wing's 'temporary' executive office built during THEODORE ROOSEVELT's administration," according to The White House Historical Association . "Taft ordered a southward extension of the existing structure. The winning architect was NATHAN C. WYETH of Washington, D.C. who designed the expansion and a new office for the President. Wyeth modeled the new president's office after the White House's most famous oval-shaped room — the Blue Room." A CALL OUT — Do you think you have a harder trivia question? Send us your best one about the presidents with a citation and we may feature it. Edited by Eun Kyung Kim and Sam Stein.   Follow us on Twitter Alex Thompson @AlexThomp Eli Stokols @EliStokols Allie Bice @alliebice   Follow us

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