| | | | | |  | | By Eli Stokols, Lauren Egan and Lawrence Ukenye | Presented by The Clean Hydrogen Future Coalition (CHFC) | Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. With help from producer Raymond Rapada Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Eli | Email Lauren For most people, regardless of their age, standing in 90-degree heat and engaging in small talk for almost three hours sounds about as enjoyable as oral surgery. But President JOE BIDEN looked to guests like he would have stayed even longer — shaking hands and taking selfies — if only staffers weren’t cleaning up the food and stacking chairs as darkness fell on the White House South Lawn. “I’ve seen other presidents do the photo line at this event,” said Rep. GRACE MENG (D-N.Y.), one of the hundreds of members of Congress who brought their families or staffers to last week’s congressional picnic. “I don’t think anyone outlasted Joe Biden.” The annual summer event at the White House has long been a respite from Washington’s partisan rancor. Administration officials, Cabinet members and lawmakers stroll the grounds in polo shirts and sundresses, watch their kids play soccer or toss bean bags without a care for politics. In Biden’s welcome remarks last Wednesday, he recalled his years as a senator attending the same event he now hosts. The event’s non-political nature isn’t easily replicated the other 364 days a year. But this year, it offered a chance for the president to deliver something of a brushback pitch at those critics who have questioned his stamina. It also served as further proof that he is uniquely energized by the retail politics of a good rope line — a traditional element of campaigns that was absent in 2020 due to the pandemic. “He is always at his best when he can just talk to people in a normal way. The more he does that, the better,” said Rep. JIMMY GOMEZ (D-Calif.), who brought his 11-month-old, HODGE — “the most famous baby in Congress!” Vice President KAMALA HARRIS quipped when she greeted him. Several Democrats backing Biden’s reelection bid concurred, expressing hope the 2024 campaign allows voters to engage with the president the way they did at the picnic. “It was 90 (degrees), but it felt like 110. And the president came down the line and I told the kids he’d [get] to us in 10 minutes,” said Rep. MORGAN MCGARVEY (D-Ky.), a freshman lawmaker attending for the first time with his wife, 12-year-old twins and 4-year-old daughter. “And 50 minutes later he gets to us because of how much time he took with everyone who was there.” While the event was open to White House press, journalists were kept at a distance from the rope-line. But several attendees shared details of their rope-line chats with Biden. Although the conversations ranged widely, some patterns emerged: an insistence on taking selfies, a willingness to chat about politics or the personal, and a lot of talk of ice cream. Chocolate, the president told scores of kids, is his favorite flavor. “He talked to all three of my kids, asked them where they were in school, asked them what they like to do,” McGarvey said. “He just looked at our 4-year-old, Greta, and he said, ‘Do you mind if I hold you?’”
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President Biden took a photo with McGarvey’s daughter during the picnic. | via Rep. Morgan McGarvey’s Twitter account | | As Biden inched down the line, Secret Service officers ahead of him assured guests he’d be there soon and asked them not to hand Biden their phones, explaining that staffers would be happy to take the pictures. But the president ignored the directive, repeatedly grabbing phones and snapping pics. When he saw House Minority Whip KATHERINE CLARK (D-Mass.) holding aviators like his own, he asked her to put them on and snapped a picture, which she later tweeted. While elected Democrats outnumbered Republicans, several GOP members attended the event with their families, including Speaker KEVIN MCCARTHY, who munched on an ice cream bar as Biden ribbed him in remarks from the stage. And some others, including several who criticize the president in speeches and interviews, sweated through the long wait for a photo, including Reps. MIKE LAWLER (R-N.Y.), VERN BUCHANAN (R-Fla.) and MARC MOLINARO (R-N.Y.). “This is one of his best skills,” Meng said. “People can disagree on policy, but you can’t doubt his authenticity and how much he enjoys talking to people.” MESSAGE US — Are you someone who was bit by COMMANDER? 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 Clean Hydrogen Future Coalition (CHFC): The clean hydrogen future is coming. Let’s get there faster. Clean hydrogen can help power the heavy industries America relies on with lower CO2 emissions. That’s why we support practical clean hydrogen rules in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). So we can build the clean hydrogen industry of the future now using clean power sources America already has today. See who’s working to speed up America’s clean hydrogen economy. | | | | | Who was the first president born west of the Mississippi River? (Answer at bottom.)
| | PROTECTING HISTORY: Biden joined Vice President KAMALA HARRIS and EMMETT TILL’s family in signing a proclamation creating a national monument at three national monuments at historic locations central to Till’s story — his 1955 murder, his open-casket funeral and a jury’s acquittal of his white killers — that helped to catalyze the civil rights movement. As our CHRISTINE MUI reports, the actions come as Florida officials, including Gov. RON DESANTIS, face bipartisan backlash from a recently approved state curriculum that instructs students that enslaved people benefited from slavery by acquiring vocational skills. “At a time when there are those who seek to ban books, bury history, we're making it clear, crystal clear,” Biden said. “Darkness and denialism can hide much, they erase nothing.” NOT GONNA FLY: A federal judge in California stuck down Biden’s asylum restrictions, arguing that the administration’s plan to limit border crossings violated federal law, our MYAH WARD and JOSH GERSTEIN report. The regulation was described as “arbitrary and capricious” by U.S District Judge JON TIGAR.The judge also expressed concern about the administration’s desire for asylum seekers to present themselves at established ports of entry rather than after crossing between border posts. The ruling could result in the loss of a crucial lever for the administration in limiting border crossings, which have dipped to their lowest point in two years. THIS IS NOT ’NAM. THERE ARE RULES: The Biden administration on Tuesday announced new rules requiring health insurance companies to cover mental health treatment. The regulations would require insurers to assess how they respond to authorized treatments for mental health issues, and whether they comply with a 2008 law that requires them to be on equal footing to physical care. “I don’t know what the difference between breaking your arm and having a mental breakdown is, it’s health, there’s no distinction,” Biden said. Our BEN LEONARD has the details. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: This piece by the AP’s PAUL WISEMAN about U.S. consumer confidence figures in July reaching their highest level in two years. The consumer confidence index rose to 117, higher than the 110.5 that economists initially forecast. Wiseman writes the economy “has proved surprisingly resilient in the face of sharply higher borrowing costs. Employers are adding a strong 278,000 jobs a month so far this year; and at 3.6 percent in June, the unemployment rate is not far off a half-century low.” Both White House communications director BEN LABOLT and senior communications adviser JESSE LEE tweeted the piece. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: This news analysis by the NYT’s PETER BAKER noting that Biden’s central foreign policy framework of “democracies versus autocracies” is being selectively applied to a complex geopolitical reality. While Biden has been outspoken about anti-democratic changes in Israel, he’s held his tongue about similar concerns in India, a nation the administration views as a critical strategic partner. Nor has Biden criticized Mexico, Poland, the Philippines or Turkey on issues of democratic backsliding. “The reasons are not mysterious,” Baker writes. “He needs the Philippines to contain China, Poland to help stand up to Russia, Mexico to stem illegal immigration and Turkey to permit Sweden to join NATO.” THE DOG JUST LOVES THE TASTE OF HUMAN FLESH: Biden’s dog Commander bit Secret Service agents on at least 10 separate occasions between last October and January, including one that required an officer to be hospitalized. The incidents were first revealed by conservative watchdog Judicial Watch, which combed through 194 pages of DHS records detailing the attacks. Two of the bites occurred while Commander was not on a leash, including one while Biden left the family movie theater. The White House told POLITICO it is in the process of creating improved safety protocols. Our ANDREW ZHANG has the details.
| | | | KEEP AN EYE ON THE GOLDEN STATE: Our most loyal West Wing Playbook readers might be keeping an eye on what Gavin Newsom is up to and the latest happenings inside the political arena of the world’s fourth largest economy. A quick tip: You need to add California Playbook to your daily reading. We have a new team at the helm who are eager to take you behind the scenes in California’s power centers, from Sacramento and Los Angeles to Silicon Valley and beyond. Get exclusive news, buzzy scoops and behind-the-scenes details of the latest from the Golden State, sent straight to your inbox. SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | | | | | | PERSONNEL MOVES: The Treasury Department has several staff changes under deputy secretary WALLY ADEYEMO: CAITLIN MELOSKI is now a senior adviser and TYLER JETT has been named a special adviser. SAMARTH GUPTA has been detailed from the department’s Office of Economic Policy as a senior policy adviser, and FAITH GOETZKE joined as a special assistant to the deputy secretary’s office. — BEN HARRIS has been appointed as vice president and director of economic studies at the Brookings Institution. Harris recently served as assistant secretary for economic policy and chief economist at the Treasury Department.
| | NOMINEES GALORE: The White House announced seven nominations by Biden to fill various vacancies, including HARRY COKER, JR. for national cyber director, DEREK CHOLLET for undersecretary of Defense for policy, and JON HOLLADAY for chief financial officer at the Agriculture Department. The president also nominated J. TODD INMAN to serve as a member of the National Transportation Safety Board. Chollet’s appointment, in particular, will test Alabama Sen. TOMMY TUBERVILLE’s (R-Ala.) ongoing blockade of all Pentagon nominees over his opposition to the agency’s abortion policy.
| | | | A message from The Clean Hydrogen Future Coalition (CHFC):   | | | | | END OF AN ERA: After more than a century of being a staple in American households, incandescent light bulbs will be prohibited from being sold due to their inability to meet new Energy Department regulations set to take effect on Aug. 1. Congress set regulations on the bulbs during the GEORGE W. BUSH administration, but the push to phase out incandescent bulbs faced multiple delays, including intense blowback from Tea Party conservatives who accused former President BARACK OBAMA of attempting to limit consumer choices. Despite the new rules, Republicans are likely to continue challenging the administration’s push to update appliance efficiency guidelines, most notably their beef over gas stove standards. Our KELSEY TAMBORRINO has the details for Pro subscribers. MORE MONUMENTS, PLEASE: The Emmett Till national monument Biden designated Tuesday was the fourth he’s created since taking office. The Center for Western Priorities is calling for the president to create more, putting six figures behind a 30-second TV spot that will run in several Western markets and Washington, D.C., with outdoorsy types urging Biden to protect more public lands.
| | A Soap Maker Cracks the Code to ‘Made in America’ (WSJ's Austen Hufford) The inevitable Biden impeachment push nears the starting line (WaPo's Philip Bump) Officials juggle several US goals as they award CHIPS money (Roll Call’s Gopal Ratnam)
| | | | HITTING YOUR INBOX AUGUST 14—CALIFORNIA CLIMATE: Climate change isn’t just about the weather. It's also about how we do business and create new policies, especially in California. So we have something cool for you: A brand-new California Climate newsletter. It's not just climate or science chat, it's your daily cheat sheet to understanding how the legislative landscape around climate change is shaking up industries across the Golden State. Cut through the jargon and get the latest developments in California as lawmakers and industry leaders adapt to the changing climate. Subscribe now to California Climate to keep up with the changes. | | | | | | | | | White House associate director of intergovernmental affairs EVAN WESSEL has an identical twin brother named DANIEL WESSEL. Aside from appearance, the brothers share a ton in common, including graduating from the University of Delaware with degrees in economics. Both also worked on campaigns: Evan worked for PETE BUTTIGIEG’s 2020 presidential operation and Daniel worked for HILLARY CLINTON’s in 2016.
| | | HERBERT HOOVER. He was born in West Branch, Iowa, to a Quaker family before moving to live with his uncle in Oregon. Since Hoover’s presidency, there have been seven presidents born west of the Mississippi River. Thanks to the Hoover Presidential Foundation for this question! A CALL OUT! Do you think you have a harder trivia question? Send us your best one about the presidents, with a citation or sourcing, and we may feature it! Edited by Eun Kyung Kim and Sam Stein.
| | | | A message from The Clean Hydrogen Future Coalition (CHFC): Clean hydrogen can power the heavy industries our nation relies on with lower CO2 emissions. The Inflation Reduction Act is poised to jump-start the clean hydrogen economy in the US, and help decarbonize critical industries like refining, steel and fertilizer production.
That’s why the Clean Hydrogen Future Coalition supports practical clean hydrogen rules. We can bring clean hydrogen to market faster using the clean power sources America already has today, and annually match that power to hydrogen production, while we invest in the clean hydrogen industry of the future.
America can’t wait to start decarbonizing the industries our nation relies on. We're working to speed up America’s clean hydrogen economy. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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