Finally, a problem Canada helped solve

Presented by GE: The power players, latest policy developments, and intriguing whispers percolating inside the West Wing.

Apr 19, 2023 View in browser   By Lauren Egan, Christopher Cadelago and Eli Stokols Presented by GE 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 The speaker slot for the South Carolina Democratic Party’s Blue Palmetto Dinner is a coveted assignment. The gathering is one of the state party’s biggest annual fundraising events, and the headliner receives a large platform before highly influential political figures in a key primary state. Vice President KAMALA HARRIS was the dinner’s keynote speaker in 2022 and many state party members were hoping for a similarly high-profile name this year, especially after President JOE BIDEN elevated South Carolina to lead off the primary voting calendar in the ’24 cycle. So when the executive committee members of the state’s Democratic Party gathered Saturday in Columbia, there was palpable excitement. And then… surprise, when it was announced that Energy Secretary JENNIFER GRANHOLM would get the gig. “I thought it was going to be some other name,” said one of the executive committee members, who asked not to be named to protect their relationships with party leaders. While some of the roughly 100 party members clapped and cheered when Granholm was announced, the enthusiasm wasn’t universal. Some people asked who she was, according to two people in the room. Others looked visibly disappointed. In a party with a large bench of Democratic rising stars, there was a feeling that a state so prominent — and one trying to raise much-needed money — should be hearing from a bolder-faced name. According to six people who were at the meeting, TRAV ROBERTSON, the outgoing state party chair, emphasized to the group that because Granholm was born in Canada, she can’t run for president. The comment struck some as a sign that, the Democratic National Committee and the White House didn’t want to give the plum speaking slot to any of the party’s up-and-comers, since doing so would either give them a leg up or give off the impression that they were considering someone other than Biden on the eve of an expected reelection bid. For some in attendance, however, Robertson’s comment also seemed to acknowledge the White House’s sensitivity to polling that consistently shows half of Democrats want Biden to step aside and let another candidate be the nominee in 2024. “They don’t want anyone to outshine the current president and they don’t want Democrats to feel like we’re promoting a potential candidate,” said NOCOLA HEMPHILL, a committee member at Saturday’s meeting. “It couldn’t be anybody who would really make people think twice.” Granholm, Hemphill noted, is “not a problem for Joe Biden.” Robertson told West Wing Playbook that he doesn’t remember what he said about Granholm being born in Canada, but that any suggestion that the party or the White House was trying to shield Biden from anyone viewed as a possible challenger was “just silly.” “If someone is telling you that [the Granholm announcement] was not perceived well, then that’s bullshit,” said Robertson. “Everyone in that room started clapping immediately.” The South Carolina Democratic Party is trying to rebuild its chronically understaffed and underfunded operation ahead of the 2024 primary. Party members feel intense pressure to not screw things up — à la Iowa’s delayed results in 2020 — and risk losing their first-in-the-nation status in 2028. Some South Carolina party leaders said not getting a bigger name to headline the dinner was a missed opportunity. “Imagine if it were PETE BUTTIGIEG. You couldn’t charge enough for the tickets,” said BRANDON UPSON, one of three candidates running to replace Robertson as state party chair in an April 29 election. But other South Carolina Democrats pointed out the Blue Palmetto Dinner has only been around since 2017 and doesn’t always draw top-tier speakers. Past speakers include former Rep. TIM RYAN (D-Ohio) and the then-DNC Chair TOM PEREZ. Some party officials also argued that few speakers are as high-energy as Granholm, pointing to the former Michigan governor’s electric 2012 DNC speech. “I don’t see this as a sign of weakness at all. I think [Granholm] is a dynamic person,” said COLLEEN CONDON, an executive committee member from Charleston. Scheduling conflicts could also be at play. The South Carolina dinner happens to fall on the Friday before the Saturday White House Correspondents’ dinner, when administration officials and party leaders are out and about at various events throughout Washington. When Harris gave the keynote speech last year, the dinner was held in June. “We fully expect President Biden to be running for reelection unopposed. Anyone coming here, they’re all really coming here running for 2028,” said Condon. MESSAGE US — Are you DNC chair JAIME HARRISON? 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 GE: Rising geopolitical threats require next-generation capabilities for U.S. warfighters. Nearly 50 bipartisan Members of Congress wrote in support of advanced engine programs last fall because they recognize these needs, in addition to the role competition can play in reducing past cost overruns. Congress should continue its historic, bipartisan support for advanced fighter engine programs to ensure U.S. air superiority. Learn more.   POTUS PUZZLER This one is from reader ALEX PENLER. Which first lady was the first to appear on U.S. currency? (Answer at bottom.) The Oval ALWAYS. BE. SELLING: During his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday, JARED BERNSTEIN, Biden’s nominee to lead the Council of Economic Advisers, joked about the superiority of New York bagels and pizza compared to D.C., which the AP’s JOSH BOAK noted in a tweet “could make for an awkward Bagel Wednesday.” Indeed. But the man behind the weekly White House carb-fest, Call Your Mother founder-turned-chief of staff JEFF ZIENTS, took the opportunity Wednesday to send Bernstein a box of CYM bagels with a note: “Assume Jared made his comments at the hearing BEFORE he had these bagels.” (Pretty good assumption, given the chronology.) At least one of Bernstein’s CEA colleagues understands how you’re supposed to go about flattering the boss. Bagels and an accompanying note from White House chief of staff Jeff Zients | Courtesy of a West Wing Playbook reader CAMPAIGN ANNOUNCEMENT COMING? Donors who raised more than $1 million for Biden in 2020 “have received a last-minute invitation to travel to Washington at the end of next week to see Mr. Biden as he gears up for a 2024 campaign,” according to the New York Times’ MAGGIE HABERMAN, SHANE GOLDMACHER, KATIE GLUECK and REBECCA DAVIS O’BRIEN. It’s “the latest in an intensifying series of discussions and planning meetings between the White House and Democratic National Committee officials” ahead of an official launch of the president’s reelection campaign that could come as early as next week. TENNESSEE THREE, WHITE HOUSE BOUND: The three lawmakers punished for joining gun protests in Nashville days after a mass shooting there will meet with Biden at the White House on Monday, our MYAH WARD reports. Statehouse Republicans expelled two of the three, Reps. JUSTIN JONES of Nashville and JUSTIN PEARSON of Memphis, both of whom are Black and have since been reinstated. The effort to expel Rep. GLORIA JOHNSON of Knoxville, who is white, failed by a single vote. The retribution turned a local firestorm over gun safety into a national parable about race, democracy and power — and one that the administration, which already saw Vice President Kamala Harris travel to Nashville, is eager to lean into. WORKING THROUGH RAMADAN: A Muslim American has yet to serve in a president’s Cabinet, although a growing number of them work at the highest levels of government. During Ramadan, the 100-plus Muslim Americans in the Biden administration have shared via group text and in-person gatherings their experiences of balancing high pressure jobs with the fasting, prayer and other observances during the holy month, CNN’S BETSY KLEIN reports. “This is a month that really pushes you to forge community,” climate adviser ALI ZAIDI told Klein, who reports on a number of recent events: an interfaith iftar at the home of SHEREEF ELNAHAL, undersecretary of Veterans Affairs for Health, and another at assistant White House press secretary ABDULLAH HASAN’s condo rooftop. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: This piece by CNN’s NIKKI CARVAJAL and DONALD JUDD on how the White House is embracing and elevating tax season, arguing that $80 billion in new funding for the Internal Revenue Service from the Inflation Reduction Act has improved service and sped up response times. "As Tax Day arrived, the administration was far from defensive,” Carvajal wrote, noting the White House leaning into tax season also offered a way to sharpen contrasts with Republicans over very different approaches to spending. Deputy press secretary ANDREW BATES tweeted the piece Wednesday. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: This article by our Myah Ward about how a new swing-state poll found that “58 percent of voters in seven key Electoral College battleground states disapprove of how the president is handling immigration, compared with 32 percent who approve. And a majority of voters surveyed, at 52 percent, believe Biden is ignoring problems at the border, while 50 percent said the president is ignoring the situation around undocumented immigrants.” MAJOR TEACHER LOUNGE: The president, first lady JILL BIDEN and Education Secretary MIGUEL CARDONA are set to host the Council of Chief State School Officers' 2023 Teachers of the Year at the White House on Monday. The first lady recorded a video message congratulating this year’s honoree as a surprise sprung on her during an interview segment on CBS Mornings. SAVE THE DATE: The president of Spain, PEDRO SANCHEZ, is set to visit the White House and meet with Biden on May 12, the White House announced Wednesday.   GO INSIDE THE 2023 MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE: POLITICO is proud to partner with the Milken Institute to produce a special edition "Global Insider" newsletter featuring exclusive coverage, insider nuggets and unparalleled insights from the 2023 Global Conference, which will convene leaders in health, finance, politics, philanthropy and entertainment from April 30-May 3. This year’s theme, Advancing a Thriving World, will challenge and inspire attendees to lean into building an optimistic coalition capable of tackling the issues and inequities we collectively face. Don’t miss a thing — subscribe today for a front row seat.     THE BUREAUCRATS IF THEY’RE OLD ENOUGH TO DRINK…: Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN said the age of the Air National Guardsman charged in the Pentagon document leaks scandal is “not the issue” in the department’s investigation, AP’s LOLITA C. BALDOR and TARA COPP report. “The vast majority of our military is young,” Austin said Wednesday, when addressing why a 21-year-old would have access to top-secret information. “It’s not exceptional that young people are doing important things in our military.” PERSONNEL MOVES: AUDRA JACKSON is now a special assistant to the president in the Office of Legislative Affairs. She had been assistant manager of the House Democratic Cloakroom and is an alumnus of the Democratic Caucus and the office of former Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas). — Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency chief of staff KIERSTEN TODT is stepping down and will return to the private sector while remaining a senior adviser to the agency, our colleague JOHN SAKELLARIADIS reports for Pro subscribers. KATHRYN COULTER MITCHELL, who currently serves as deputy undersecretary for DHS’s Science and Technology Directorate, will replace Todt.   A message from GE:   Agenda Setting MORE AID INCOMING: The White House “plans to send $325 million in additional military aid for Ukraine, as defense leaders from dozens of nations prepare to meet in Germany at the end of this week to figure out the next steps in helping Kyiv,” our LARA SELIGMAN reports. “The package is primarily focused on boosting Ukraine’s inventories of munitions and anti-armor capabilities, two of its most urgent battlefield needs, as Kyiv stockpiles weapons in preparation for a widely anticipated spring offensive.” PAGING PETE: Regional Airline Association president and CEO FAYE MALARKEY BLACK told lawmakers Wednesday that U.S. airlines are going to see a “‘tsunami of pilot retirements’ that will further the nation’s pilot shortage, limiting flight availability for passengers and putting upward pressure on fares,” CNN’s GREG WALLACE reports. “More than half of pilots working today hit the mandatory retirement age of 65 in the next 15 years and younger pilots are not making up for those aging out,” Wallace notes. The issue adds another headache for the airline industry, as it has also been grappling with several system outages and near misses. The Oppo Book Former White House press secretary JEN PSAKI said on an episode of “On With Kara Swisher” that she and Fox News’ PETER DOOCY have a good relationship — despite their tense interactions in the James Brady briefing room. “I do miss Peter a little bit — you would have those fun back and forths,” Psaki said. “Maybe we’ll have the opportunity to do it again.” As for whether or not he’s reached out since she began headlining her own show, “Inside with Jen Psaki,” on MSNBC, she added: “He has not yet.”   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.     What We're Reading Hunter Biden Probe Is Being Mishandled, IRS Whistleblower Says (WSJ's Aruna Viswanatha, Sadie Gurman and C. Ryan Barber) Biden’s the favorite for reelection despite bad polls. How come? (LAT’s David Lauter) For Progressive Democrats, New Momentum Clashes With Old Debates (NYT’s Jazmine Ulloa and Lisa Lerer) POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER A portrait of first lady MARTHA WASHINGTON was on the $1 silver certificate, making her the first first lady on U.S. currency. The certificates were “first printed in 1886, six years after the first legal tender dollar bill featuring Washington was issued, a slightly re-designed Martha Washington also was produced in 1891,” according to the Mount Vernon website. “The $1 Certificates were discontinued in 1957.” 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 GE: In the face of rising geopolitical threats, GE’s XA100 is the only adaptive cycle engine to have concluded military testing and is ready to revolutionize the U.S. military with much-needed capabilities, including 30% more range and 20% more acceleration. We urge Congress to support competition and continue investing in revolutionary technologies such as those developed under the Adaptive Engine Transition Program (AETP) to help ensure U.S. warfighters have the edge they need. GE Aerospace is ready to power U.S. warfighters today and in the future. Learn more.     Follow us on Twitter Eli Stokols @EliStokols Lauren Egan @Lauren_V_Egan Allie Bice @alliebice   Follow us

To change your alert settings, please log in at https://www.politico.com/_login?base=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.politico.com/settings This email was sent to rouf@idiot.cloudns.cc by: POLITICO, LLC 1000 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA, 22209, USA Please click here and follow the steps to unsubscribe.