Trouble at Biden’s drug control office

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

Feb 16, 2024 View in browser   By Myah Ward, Lauren Egan and Ben Johansen Presented by 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 PROGRAMMING NOTE: We’ll be off this Monday for Presidents’ Day but will be back in your inbox on Tuesday, Feb. 20. The White House office tasked with helping the nation manage a debilitating opioid epidemic has been beset by significant staff turnover and large-scale discontent with its director, Dr. RAHUL GUPTA, according to nine people familiar with its operations. Seven former and current officials, as well two other people with knowledge of the office dynamics, described the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy as a “toxic” work environment. And they put the blame for that on Gupta, who they described as egocentric and a “prima donna” preoccupied with his public profile. At least eight top officials and a number of other aides have resigned in recent months in large part because of Gupta’s leadership, according to the same officials. The departures have created a significant leadership vacuum in the office of roughly 75 people, leading to dysfunction across the team that has caused important deadlines to be missed, the people familiar with the office’s operations said. “When everybody leaves, it can’t be ‘everybody is the problem,’” said one of the former officials who, like the others, was granted anonymity to speak candidly and without fear of retribution. “On some level, you might be the problem.” An ONDCP official, in response to a request for comment, said the office’s “critical mission to address the overdose epidemic is deeply personal to Dr. Gupta: from his decades of work as a physician treating patients with substance use disorder, to leading the public health response efforts in ground zero of the opioid crisis in West Virginia.” “Dr. Gupta remains laser-focused on the office’s work to strengthen life-saving public health services, prevent illicit drugs from reaching our communities, and meeting with Americans across the country to strengthen our whole-of-society response,” the official said. Gupta, a practicing physician of more than 25 years, most recently served as the chief medical and health officer, interim chief science officer and senior vice president at the nonprofit March of Dimes before being appointed by President JOE BIDEN to his current post in 2021. He also served under two West Virginia governors as the state’s health commissioner and was a professor of medicine at several universities. The White House praised Gupta’s nomination in 2021 as a “historic step in the Administration’s efforts to turn the tide of our nation’s addiction and overdose epidemic.” It noted his background as a physician made him uniquely qualified to oversee an office tasked with preventing drug overdoses through expanding access to prevention and recovery support services, as well reducing the supply of illicit drugs. But the seven current and former officials told West Wing Playbook that Gupta has not lived up to that billing. They say he put unrealistic pressure on his small team to raise his public profile, such as becoming frustrated when staff were unable to land meetings with a high-ranking official during his travels. In the public-facing role, Gupta travels domestically and abroad frequently, and staff often felt he had unrealistic demands about his travel accommodations. The trips, the former and current officials said, often centered around Gupta rather than the work ONDCP was doing. He expected Cabinet-level treatment when traveling and would blow up plans when staff couldn’t deliver. He canceled one trip last year, after months of planning, because he didn’t want to fly Southwest Airlines, the officials said. He also once calculated the square-footage of a hotel room, and then requested staff book him a larger room. And he liked to roll up to events — including weekend embassy parties — in a black government SUV with staff, even though that sort of service is not typically used by ONDCP directors for events unrelated to the office’s direct work. The current and former staffers said they believe his approach to the job is directly at odds with the president’s early insistence that he would not tolerate demeaning behavior by his team. “The way he’s been treating people is like, completely the opposite of what Biden said he expects from his staff,” said a person with direct knowledge of the office dynamic. “I think everybody is afraid because they’re afraid of retribution.” To read the rest of the story, click HERE. MESSAGE US — Are you SARA JONES, special assistant to the president for climate and science personnel? 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 Center Forward: America’s capital markets benefit our whole economy – with investments, innovation, economic growth and job creation. They enable everything from stable prices to strong pensions and clean energy. But the Federal Reserve is considering Basel III Endgame, which will weaken capital markets and undermine American competitiveness. Why would we hurt our economy at a time like this? See why companies and groups across America are speaking out against the proposal.   POTUS PUZZLER Which presidential election was the closest in U.S. history? (Answer at bottom.) The Oval SOMBER NEWS: President Biden on Friday blamed the Kremlin for the reported death of Russian opposition leader ALEXEI NAVALNY, our JONATHAN LEMIRE and ALEXANDER WARD report. “Russian authorities are going to tell their own story. Make no mistake, Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death,” Biden said. “It is more proof of [Vladimir] Putin’s brutality.” The president praised Navalny as “so many things Putin was not. He was brave. He was principled. He was dedicated to the rule of law and building a Russia where that applied to everybody.” During the remarks, Biden targeted former President DONALD TRUMP and congressional Republicans for failing to pass funding for Ukraine in their battle with Russia. “It’s about time they step up instead of going on a two-week vacation.” Vice President KAMALA HARRIS also blamed Navalny’s death on Putin’s government. “Whatever story they tell, let us be clear, Russia is responsible,” Harris said from the Munich Security Conference, where Navalny’s wife YULIA NAVALNAYA sat front row. LONG TIME COMING: A year since the train derailment rocked East Palestine, Ohio, Biden visited the community on Friday where he was briefed on ongoing recovery efforts. The president, joined by EPA Administrator MICHAEL REGAN, vowed to hold Norfolk Southern accountable and announced new National Institutes of Health grants for research universities to study the short and long-term impacts of the devastating chemical spill. He also reiterated his support for the bipartisan rail safety bill in Congress. “We’re going to stay until the very end — until every need is met,” Biden said of the federal government’s response. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: This piece by NYT’s MAGGIE HABERMAN and JONATHAN SWAN, who report that Trump has told advisers and allies that he supports a 16-week federal abortion ban — with exceptions for rape, incest, or to save the mother’s life. Trump has avoided taking a stance on the issue, privately saying he would wait until the primary to openly discuss it. One reason Trump prefers a 16-week ban is because of the number. “Know what I like about 16?” Trump told one of the people. “It’s even. It’s four months.” The Biden campaign’s director of rapid response, AMMAR MOUSSA, shared the piece, writing: “Trump wants a national abortion ban. Period full stop.” WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO LISTEN TO: This episode of the NYT's EZRA KLEIN Show, “Democrats Have a Better Option Than Biden.” Klein argues that Biden should not run again, and he should instead let Democrats pick a new candidate at the Democratic National Convention in August. “I thought Biden might surprise again. … We had to wait until this year to see Biden even begin to show what he’d be like on the campaign trail,” Klein says. “And what I think we’re seeing is that he’s not up for this. He’s not the campaigner he even was five years ago.” One important distinction Klein makes is that Biden is not too old to be president, but that many voters believe that he is too old for the presidency — and so far, he is failing to convince them otherwise. THIS WOULD BE SOMETHING: Longtime head of Council on Foreign Relations RICHARD HAASS approached top Biden administration officials last month, urging them to shift their approach to the Israel-Hamas war, our Jonathan Lemire and NAHAL TOOSI report. Haass believes Biden needs to separate himself from Israeli Prime Minister BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, which he proposed Biden could do by going to Israel’s parliament to deliver a speech that directly lays out his vision for the future. Haass pitched the idea to, among others, Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN and national security adviser JAKE SULLIVAN. MORE DIPLOMAT VISITS: President Biden and first lady JILL BIDEN will host Kenya’s President WILLIAM RUTO and first lady RACHEL RUTO for a state visit on May 23. The visit will mark the 60th anniversary of U.S.-Kenyan diplomatic relations, and will “strengthen our shared commitment to advance peace and security, expand our economic ties, and stand together in defense of democratic values,” press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE said.   YOUR VIP PASS TO THE MUNICH SECURITY CONFERENCE: Dive into the heart of global security with POLITICO's Global Playbook at the 2024 Munich Security Conference. Gain exclusive insights and in-depth analysis as author Suzanne Lynch navigates the crucial discussions, key players and emerging trends that will shape the international security landscape. Subscribe now to Global Playbook and stay informed.     CAMPAIGN HQ NEW AD ALERT: The Biden campaign took aim at Donald Trump in a new ad, targeting his embrace of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his comments on not defending NATO allies, NBC’s MONICA ALBA reports. The ad highlights how Trump is the only president who hasn’t been a “rock solid supporter” of NATO since it was established in 1949, and that Trump has “given Putin and Russia the green light to attack America’s allies.” The campaign will launch a three-week, six-figure blast of the ad throughout battleground states like Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. It was put together before the news of Navalny’s death. THE BUREAUCRATS PERSONNEL MOVES: NED PRICE will be U.N. ambassador LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD’s deputy ambassador, our Alex Ward and Nahal Toosi report. Price, currently a senior adviser to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, will take over for JEFFREY PRESCOTT. — LAUREN STOCKWELL has been promoted to be chief of staff for the Office of the Department of Defense Chief Information Officer. She most recently was deputy chief of staff. — JARED ADAMS is now director of strategic communications for the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering and Chief Technology Officer. He most recently was chief of engagement and communications at ARPA-H. WHAT’S NEW: The White House is slamming three GOP senators for what they describe as “cruel and Islampahobic attacks” at a Biden judicial nominee ADEEL MANGI as part of a “smear effort” to discredit him, NBC’s Monica Alba reports. Sens. TED CRUZ (R-Texas), JOSH HAWLEY (R-Mo.) and TOM COTTON (R-Ark.) are being called out for a “malicious line of questioning about Mangi’s views on Hamas’ attacks on Israel. “Mr. Mangi has been subjected to uniquely hostile attacks, in a way other nominees have not — precisely because of his Muslim faith,” deputy press secretary ANDREW BATES said.   A message from Center Forward:   Agenda Setting OUTSIDE THE BOX: Transportation Secretary PETE BUTTIGIEG suggested that generative artificial intelligence could be used to handle air traffic control for drones, and addressed what he says are “non-obvious” ways to incorporate AI into transportation, our TANYA SNYDER reports for Pro subscribers. “If you look at the number of uncrewed aircraft, drones, that are going into our airspace, there are not enough human beings in the world to train to be air traffic controllers to handle all of that,” Buttigieg said. “So it's one example of a technical challenge where we think AI could have a lot of potential to help.” THE MIDDLE MEN: Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister WANG YI, at the Munich Security Conference on Friday, our PHELIM KINE reports. The meeting likely included planning for a potential Biden call with Chinese President XI JINPING.   YOUR GUIDE TO EMPIRE STATE POLITICS: From the newsroom that doesn’t sleep, POLITICO's New York Playbook is the ultimate guide for power players navigating the intricate landscape of Empire State politics. Stay ahead of the curve with the latest and most important stories from Albany, New York City and around the state, with in-depth, original reporting to stay ahead of policy trends and political developments. Subscribe now to keep up with the daily hustle and bustle of NY politics.      What We're Reading Why Russia Killed Navalny (The Atlantic’s Anne Applebaum) How Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Became One of Joe Biden’s Most Valuable Boosters (Time Magazine’s Philip Elliott) POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER The 1960 election between Democrat JOHN F. KENNEDY and Republican RICHARD NIXON, with a margin of 113,000 electoral votes. 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 Center Forward: The Federal Reserve’s Basel III Endgame will undermine the U.S. economy – and American competitiveness. That’s why so many companies, organizations and people are speaking out in rare agreement against the proposal and its harmful impact on capital markets and the U.S. economy – Republicans and Democrats, corporations and nonprofits, manufacturers and consumers, and even groups from California and Alabama.    Organizations from across industries are urging the Fed to reconsider the rule, saying it would have “significant adverse consequences” and is “bad for consumers and bad for economic stability.” Even lawmakers from both sides of the aisle agree that the Fed should “carefully consider the proposal’s consequences on capital markets.” America has spoken. Will the Fed listen? Protect our Capital Markets. Protect our Economy.     Follow us on Twitter Lauren Egan @Lauren_V_Egan Myah Ward @MyahWard Ben Johansen @BenJohansen3   Follow us

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