O Biden Boy. The pipes, the pipes, are calling.

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

Apr 07, 2023 View in browser   By Lauren Egan and Eli Stokols 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 is scheduled to spend next week visiting Ireland and Northern Ireland to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, a U.S.-brokered peace accord that brought an end to decades of deadly violence on the island. The trip will also be personal for Biden, whose Irish Catholic identity is central to his public persona. Ahead of the visit, West Wing Playbook spoke with GERALDINE BYRNE NASON, Ireland’s ambassador to the U.S. Here’s a condensed, edited version of the conversation. What is the significance of Biden making his first trip to Ireland as president on the anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement? President Biden is somebody who carries the spirit and deep attachment to Ireland in everything he does. His commitment to his Irish heritage is a very proud one, and we’re all aware of that.  The fact that he’s coming right now marking the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement is very significant and I would say poetic as well. A lot of Irish people see President Biden as having accompanied us through good and bad times. And now he comes at a huge moment when we can look back on 25 years of peace on the island, but there’s still unfinished business there as well.  What does Biden’s embrace of his Irish heritage mean to you? He’s not the first president with Irish American roots. Half of your presidents claim Irish heritage. But in President Biden, we have a president who carries this so proudly in his own sense of identity. He doesn’t forget where we came from. He frequently invokes his great-great-grandparents leaving Ireland and working with great determination and ambition here.  Biden does love to talk about his Irish roots. Do you have a favorite Biden story or saying? I have to admit, my son uses “malarkey” as a middle name for the president. Biden loves that term and it is, of course, endearing to the Irish. But his reflection on his family and the sacrifices that were made in order to build America are something that matter a lot to us. Irish people put a lot of emphasis on the family unit — we have a solidarity with each other. And I think that reflects on the kind of heritage that President Biden brings forward. I often think when I hear him speak, that I hear Irish rhythms in his language. He has the rhythm of the Irish. Biden isn’t going to London and it doesn’t seem like he will meet with King Charles III, either. What do you make of that decision? The president made his decision to come to the island of Ireland, to visit Northern Ireland — which of course, is part of the United Kingdom — and then spend most of his visit in Ireland. It’s no surprise to me, as an ambassador of Ireland, that a man that we’ve just described as so quintessentially Irish would want to visit Ireland and spend time there during his presidency. Any recommendations for reporters and staffers that will be traveling to Ireland with Biden? Irish movies are having a golden age right now. Two movies if you can watch them before you travel: “The Quiet Girl” and “The Banshees of Inisherin” — which is set in County Mayo where Biden is going. If you’re going to spend time in Dublin, I suggest watching “The Commitment.” The best food in Ireland is in pubs, particularly in the countryside. My favorite is an open sandwich of brown bread with poached Irish salmon on it. It’s like a religious obligation when I go to Ireland, I have to eat that. Also don’t miss going to a fish & chips shop in Dublin.  And then of course you’ll have to have a glass of something Irish to make sure you can swallow the food.  MESSAGE US — Are you KING CHARLES III? 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!    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.     POTUS PUZZLER With help from the White House Historical Association Since the White House Easter Bunny mascot is debuting its makeover this weekend, we wanted to stay on theme. Under which first lady did the White House Easter Bunny tradition begin? (Answer at bottom.) Cartoon of the Week Cartoon by Dave Granlund | Courtesy It’s that time of the week again — cartoon feature time! This one is by DAVE GRANLUND. Our very own MATT WUERKER publishes a selection of cartoons from all over the country. The Oval HARRIS TO NASHVILLE: With Biden ensconced at Camp David for the weekend, Vice President KAMALA HARRIS scrambled her schedule Friday to fly to Nashville in a show of support for the two Black state lawmakers ousted from the legislature Thursday night. Republicans, who hold a majority, did it in retribution for the lawmakers’ recent protest over a lack of action on gun safety measures (although they fell one vote short of expelling the third lawmaker involved in the protest, who is white). The hastily scheduled trip, a Harris aide told USA Today, is an effort to lift up the thousands of students who called for action at the state capitol last week following the deadly shooting at a Christian school in Nashville. The last-minute travel – Harris departed without a pool of reporters in tow – also made clear the White House recognized the need – or opportunity – to do more in response to an event that has galvanized the Democratic base. Harris plans to meet with the Democratic statehouse caucus, including the two expelled lawmakers, former Reps. JUSTIN JONES of Nashville and JUSTIN PEARSON of Memphis, whose expulsion by Republicans turned a charged battle over gun safety into a legislative crucible about race, power and democracy. BETTER ANGELS: After a few days raking first lady JILL BIDEN over the coals for her suggestion that Iowa join Louisiana State University at the White House, LSU star ANGEL REESE is playing it diplomatically now. Earlier this week, Reese said she didn’t accept Biden’s apology and planned to boycott a White House ceremony, stating that she’d rather hang with the Obamas. But on Friday, she told ESPN that, on second thought, she and her team would attend. “Just going back on it, you don’t get that experience (to visit the White House) ever,” Reese said. “I know my team probably wants to go for sure, and my coaches are supportive of that, so I’m going to do what’s best for the team. And if they would like to go, we decide we’re going to go, then we’re going to go.” According to ESPN, LSU accepted the president’s invitation on Thursday but a date has not yet been set. IT’S ANYONE’S GUESS: Biden has said he is “definitely running” for reelection, but has still not made it clear when the formal announcement will be made, sources told CNN’s KEVIN LIPTAK, MJ LEE and JEFF ZELENY. Although it was hinted he would make his formal announcement at the beginning of this year, sources tell CNN it may be delayed to the summer. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: Anything about the latest jobs report, as it showed “employers added a solid 236,000 jobs in March, reflecting a resilient labor market and suggesting that the Federal Reserve may see the need to keep raising interest rates in the coming months,” AP reports. “The unemployment rate fell to 3.5 percent, not far above the 53-year low of 3.4 percent set in January.” Chief of Staff JEFF ZIENTS was among the staffers who tweeted Biden’s official statement on the report, and he included some top-lines on the 12 million jobs created since the start of the administration and the record low unemployment for Black Americans, which the Washington Post’s CATHERINE RAMPELL was quick to identify. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: This Twitter thread by writer and former Marine PHIL KLAY, who took issue with yesterday’s spin from national security council spokesman JOHN KIRBY downplaying the chaos amid the U.S. departure from Afghanistan in 2021 as part of an administration report released Thursday. “For all this talk of chaos, I just didn’t see it,” Kirby told reporters. In a long, sobering string of tweets, Klay relates the story of an Afghan man attempting to flee the country who encountered “massive, panicked crowds” around Kabul’s airport and whose family endured unimaginable hardship attempting to get through numerous checkpoints in the face of beatings and harassment by the Taliban. THE BUREAUCRATS PAGING AUSTIN: Sen. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-Mass) is asking Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN about the impact of Republican Alabama Sen. TOMMY TUBERVILLE’s blockade of military promotions over abortion access policies for troops, our CONNOR O’BRIEN reports. In a letter to Austin, Warren asked for "a full accounting of which positions will go unfilled and the risks" that would be a result of the blockade. Filling the Ranks UNDERSTAFFING WHERE? The Internal Revenue Service said it anticipates hiring 105,000 workers by 2025, an increase of nearly 50 percent of its workforce in three years, our BENJAMIN GUGGENHEIM reports for Pro subscribers. The projection is part of the agency’s strategic spending plan it released Thursday, outlining what it will do with the infusion of $80 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act. Agenda Setting WHOOPSIE: The Pentagon is looking into how “classified war documents detailing secret American and NATO plans for building up the Ukrainian military ahead of a planned offensive against Russian troops were posted this week on social media channels,” NYT’s HELENE COOPER and ERIC SCHMITT report. The documents circulated social channels like Twitter and Telegram Thursday, and the White House was able to get them off the platforms by Thursday evening. EYES ON RUSSIAN CYBER FIRM: The Commerce Department is considering taking action “against Kaspersky Lab, a Russian cybersecurity company that has long faced accusations of posing a threat to the U.S., according to people familiar with the matter,” WSJ’s JOHN D. MCKINNON and DUSTIN VOLZ report. The move “could become a test case for the Commerce Department’s growing role in policing threats online, who said the U.S. might deploy the same online-security rules against Chinese-controlled technologies, possibly including TikTok.” The Oppo Book When WALLY ADEYEMO, deputy treasury secretary, got an email with the subject line “Cal Graduation Speaker” — a request to speak at the University of California Berkeley’s commencement address — in May 2021, he assumed it was meant for his boss, Treasury Secretary JANET YELLEN. She’s “a towering economic mind who has helped us weather the economic crises of the past 20 years — and a longstanding member of UC Berkeley faculty,” he explained. As it turns out, the email was meant for him. UC Berkeley is his alma mater. “I only have one advantage over Yellen,” he joked while delivering the May 2021 commencement address. “I graduated from Cal. I know there is no better place on Earth to get an education.” What We're Reading The Ultimate Political Shmear Campaign (Politico’s Sam Stein, who else?) Every second on the yacht I wished I were in a Walmart parking lot (WaPo’s Alexandra Petri) Adichie Writes Open Letter to President Biden, About “Nigeria’s Hollow Democracy” (Chimamanda Adichie for The Atlantic)   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.     POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER One of first lady PAT NIXON’s staff members was the first to wear a white jumpsuit and PETER RABBIT mask to greet children along the South Lawn’s driveway on April 7th, 1969. 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 Eli Stokols @EliStokols Lauren Egan @Lauren_V_Egan Allie Bice @alliebice   Follow us

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