Biden’s blue period

Presented by the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living: The power players, latest policy developments, and intriguing whispers percolating inside the West Wing.

Feb 03, 2023 View in browser   By Lauren Egan and Eli Stokols Presented by the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living 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 Eli | Email Lauren President JOE BIDEN made it a priority when he took office to undo his predecessor’s judicial legacy. So far, he’s had success, appointing more federal judges compared to DONALD TRUMP at this point in his presidency. But that momentum is starting to slow. The easy-to-fill judicial vacancies in states represented by Democratic senators are growing thinner, forcing Biden to tackle more vacancies in states represented by Republicans. And, eventually, that means the White House will have to figure out what to do about the “blue slip” rule. The Senate rule refers to an actual piece of paper senators fill out and give to the Judiciary Committee to put forth nominees in their home state. The practice started in the early 1900s as an informal way for senators to give feedback about judicial candidates. But over time, the Judiciary Committee has refused (with some exceptions) to move forward on a nominee if a home-state senator withholds or sends back a negative blue slip, essentially giving the lawmakers veto power over nominees in their state. That presents problems for Biden. Of the 56 announced district court vacancies without nominees, 39 could be blocked by a Republican senator refusing to return a blue slip, according to an analysis by CHRIS KANG, chief counsel of the liberal judicial advocacy group Demand Justice. That means the president will need Republican approval for 70 percent of the district court vacancies for which he still needs to make a nomination. That presents problems for Biden. Of the 56 announced district court vacancies without nominees, 39 could be blocked by a Republican senator refusing to return a blue slip, according to an analysis by CHRIS KANG, chief counsel of the liberal judicial advocacy group Demand Justice. That means the president will need Republican approval for 70 percent of the district court vacancies for which he still needs to make a nomination — a daunting number when considering that roughly a quarter of all active judges were appointed during Trump's one term in office. Faced with these stats, progressive judicial advocacy groups have offered a solution: abandon the blue slips. Last month, former Democratic Sen. RUSS FEINGOLD, who now runs the American Constitution Society, warned in an op-ed in The Hill that “Democrats are at risk of becoming Charlie Brown and having the football swiped out from under them.” But, so far, those close to the president say that, as a former chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he is unlikely to wade into the debate. Even if he did, they add, he may not endorse scrapping blue slips entirely. “The president was a former chairman of Judiciary, so he knows the process. He knows the positives, and he knows the negatives,” said former Alabama Sen. DOUG JONES, who last year was tapped to help guide Biden’s first Supreme Court nominee. “I don't think that the president should weigh in heavily on a Senate courtesy or a Senate rule.” Still, Jones said that while the White House has been able to work with some Republicans on judicial confirmations — like in Idaho, where both of the state’s Republican senators recently approved of Biden’s nominee to fill a district court seat — the hyper-partisanship has made it difficult. That has pushed some, even those fond of Senate norms, to consider moving away from the tradition. Jones himself says he’s gotten more comfortable embracing some reforms. “I’m a little bit reluctant about getting rid of blue slips solely for district judges, but I’m getting pretty close,” he said. For now, most pressure from advocates has been focused on Senate Judiciary Committee Chair DICK DURBIN (D-Ill.) and other Democratic committee members, allowing the White House to stay out of the conversation. A committee aide said that the panel has not had any conversations with the White House about scrapping the blue slip rule. But the White House might not be able to stay on the sidelines for long. Blue slips have increasingly become an important issue for members of the Congressional Black Caucus — an influential group in the Biden White House — many of whom represent southern states where Biden has struggled to fill court vacancies, raising concerns about civil rights protections and voting rights. A senior Democratic congressional aide said that CBC members were “very, very disturbed about the whole situation with blue slips because they feel like their communities in the South delivered this White House.” The aide predicted that pressure on the White House from CBC members would “increase as we move into the year.” MESSAGE US —Are you SCOTT WINSTON COLOM, Biden’s nominee to the U.S. district court for the Northern District of Mississippi?We want to hear from you. And we’ll keep you anonymous! Email us at westwingtips@politico.com. Did someone forward this email to you? Subscribe here!   A message from the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living: Nursing homes are doing everything they can to recruit caregivers, but can't find workers. The labor crisis in long term care is affecting all aspects of health care, creating bottlenecks in hospitals as patients wait for beds in nursing homes. A federal staffing mandate without resources to help with recruitment would force nursing homes to limit the number of residents they can serve. Learn more about the solutions to the labor crisis.   POTUS PUZZLER This one is from Allie. Which president had the nickname “Red Fox of Kinderhook” and why? (Answer at the bottom.) Cartoon of the Week Cartoon by Jeff Koterba | Courtesy TGIF! It’s cartoon feature time. This one is by JEFF KOTERBA. Our very own MATT WUERKER publishes a selection of cartoons from all over the country. View the cartoon carousel here. The Oval CAMPAIGN ‘SOFT LAUNCH’ ACTIVATED: Biden’s Friday trip to Philadelphia encapsulates the administration’s approach to his third year in office, combining the White House’s effort to tout the implementation of major legislation passed over the last two years with the gradual ramping up of his reelection campaign. We scooped last week that Biden would attend another DNC fundraiser and address the organization’s members tonight, which top aides acknowledged amounted to a soft launch of his eventual campaign. And today’s event, in which the president announced $500 million in funding to expedite the removal of lead pipes, continued a push to showcase how new laws are impacting people’s every-day lives. DAVID BEFORE THE GOLIATH: A team of top advisers to the president, including BRUCE REED, MIKE DONILON, ANITA DUNN and speechwriter VINAY REDDY, are heading to Camp David this weekend to prepare for the president’s State of the Union speech on Feb. 7, CBS News’ WEIJIA JIANG, ED O'KEEFE and ARDEN FARHI report. Accompanying them will be Biden’s favorite speechwriter historian JON MEACHEM, because of course. HITTING THE ROAD: Biden, as presidents typically do after the State of the Union, will hit the road next week. The White House announced Friday afternoon that the president plans to travel Wednesday to Madison, Wis., to talk about his economic plan and to Tampa, Fla., on Thursday for an event focused on lowering healthcare costs and the need to protect Social Security and Medicare. [BRYAN ADAMS VOICE] NOT SINCE THE SUMMER OF 69: The latest jobs numbers were remarkably good, showing that the U.S. has reached the lowest unemployment rate since 1969. Or, to be precise, as WaPo’s DAMIAN PALETTA noted, the “Summer of 69.” Biden, who took a quick victory lap around the numbers on Friday morning before heading to Philadelphia, also noted the historic nature of the low unemployment rate. Flanked by his departing economic team, National Economic Council Director BRIAN DEESE and Council of Economic Advisers CECILIA ROUSE, the president declared that “the Biden economic plan is working.” Deputy press secretary EMILIE SIMONS relished the positive coverage across all four cable networks. But RON KLAIN, the outgoing chief of staff, suggested the folks at Fox News weren’t happy about having to report on the economic news. FLOTUS WATCH: The president said first lady JILL BIDEN, a noted Philadelphia Eagles fan, will attend the Super Bowl next Sunday, our ADAM CANCRYN reports. Biden said that when Jill went to the Eagles game last weekend, she took her grandson Hunter because going anywhere with the president was too much of a hassle. He joked that when the first lady learned she was going to the Super Bowl: “She said goodbye and I’m not allowed to go.” But first, FLOTUS will attend this weekend’s Grammy Awards as a presenter. Reuters’ KANISHKA SINGH has more. LIVING THE BRAND(S): WaPo’s TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA notes that the president is a brand fiend — often wearing Ray-Ban aviator sunglasses and paying visits to local restaurants or ice cream shops, like Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream or Ghostburger in Washington, D.C. While most presidents do this, Olorunnipa writes that “few have embraced small-time eateries and ice cream parlors, or showcased their habit of hitting local stores and boutiques, as regularly as Biden.”   JOIN POLITICO ON 2/9 TO HEAR FROM AMERICA’S GOVERNORS: In a divided Congress, more legislative and policy enforcement will shift to the states, meaning governors will take a leading role in setting the agenda for the nation. Join POLITICO on Thursday, Feb. 9 at World Wide Technology's D.C. Innovation Center for The Fifty: America's Governors, where we will examine where innovations are taking shape and new regulatory red lines, the future of reproductive health, and how climate change is being addressed across a series of one-on-one interviews. REGISTER HERE.     THE BUREAUCRATS PERSONNEL MOVES: ANALYSSE ESCOBAR has been hired by the vice president's office to work on public engagement, two people familiar with the move told DANIEL LIPPMAN. She most recently was White House liaison at the Department of Housing and Urban Development and is a Biden campaign alum. — CONNOLLY KEIGHER has left the White House where she was director of presidential advance and a special assistant to the president, Lippman has also learned. She is now senior adviser for strategic engagement in the director’s office of the Peace Corps. — BOBBY KOGAN, adviser for the Office of Management and Budget, is lheading to the Center for American Progress to serve as the senior director of Federal Budget Policy. — MARTHA GIMBEL, senior adviser at the Council of Economic Advisers, is also leaving her post, she announced on Twitter Friday. POP GOES THE MEETING: Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN’s trip to Beijing this weekend was put on hold, following concerns about the Chinese spy balloon seen flying over the western U.S., our PHELIM KINE reports. A State Department official said the trip is indefinitely postponed until “conditions are right.” (On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate our balloon pun?) Relatedly, the Biden administration will brief Congress’ Gang of 8 leaders next week on the balloon matter, a CHUCK SCHUMER spokesperson said.   A message from the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living:   Agenda Setting MORE CHINA-AIRSPACE DRAMA: Lawmakers are calling on the Biden administration to provide more answers about the Chinese airship that was found flying over the U.S., thought to be collecting information, our CONNOR O’BRIEN and LAWRENCE UKENYE report. A group of Republican lawmakers, and Montana Democratic Sen. JON TESTER, have put out public calls for more information. “We are still waiting for real answers on how this happened and what steps the Administration took to protect our country, and I will hold everyone accountable until I get them,” Tester said in a statement Friday. THE LATEST IN UKRAINE AID: The Biden administration announced a $2.2 billion aid package for Ukraine Friday, which includes a new longer-range bomb with a rocket motor and equipment for air defense systems, our LARA SELIGMAN and PAUL MCLEARY report. What We're Reading US may lift protections for Yellowstone, Glacier grizzlies (AP’s Matthew Brown) “It’s an astonishingly ambitious agenda”—Joe Biden’s plan to remake America’s economy (The Economist) Mexican bakery in Raleigh basks in pride, new business after vice president’s visit (The News&Observer’s Aaron Sánchez-Guerra)   DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO MOBILE APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS– DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID.     The Oppo Book As it’s Martha Gimbel’s last day at the CEA, we thought it would only be right to highlight her rather dorky Peloton username. She tweeted Friday that upon leaving her post, she’ll have to change her username: “prime-age woman in labor force.” She said she’ll work on editing it to say “prime-age woman not in labor force.” “There are people who will think this is a joke…it is not,” she added. Good luck with ALEX TOUSSAINT, Martha. POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER MARTIN VAN BUREN was nicknamed the “Red Fox of Kinderhook” because of his red hair and the name of where he was born — Kinderhook, N.Y., according to the Library Congress. 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. A message from the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living: The long term care community is facing a historic labor crisis, forcing more nursing homes to limit the number of residents they can serve and some facilities may permanently close. Nursing homes are doing everything they can to recruit caregivers, but can’t find workers. A federal staffing mandate without resources to help with recruitment is not the answer. It will only reduce access to care for our nation’s seniors. The labor crisis has already created bottlenecks in hospitals as patients wait for beds in nursing homes. We need an investment in our long term care workforce to build a pipeline of caregivers - not unfunded staffing mandates. A one-size-fits-all approach is not the solution. Help us hire, don’t require.     Follow us on Twitter Eli Stokols @EliStokols Lauren Egan @Lauren_V_Egan Allie Bice @alliebice   Follow us

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