| | | | |  | | By Lauren Egan, Eli Stokols and Ben Johansen | Presented by ACLI, Finseca, IRI, NAFA and NAIFA | Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Eli | Email Lauren Working in the White House does not afford a lot of time for extracurricular activities. Aside from blowing off steam in the White House bowling alley, a notable number of President JOE BIDEN’s aides devote the sparingly little free time they have towards running. And not just the casual jaunt around the neighborhood. Chief of staff JEFF ZIENTS has run eight races since taking over the role: six half-marathons and two ten-milers. Senior adviser JOHN PODESTA has kept up a rigorous running routine for years. Transportation Secretary PETE BUTTIGIEG competed in a triathlon last year. Deputy director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs DAN KOH, who proposed to his now-wife after they crossed the finish line at the Boston Marathon, also has a reputation among his colleagues for being an avid runner. So too does senior adviser to the deputy chief of staff VIVEK VISWANATHAN. “I think it’s good for you. But the few days that I miss, I feel crappy. I don’t know if that’s physical or psychological, but I feel crappy,” Zients said of his morning running routine in an interview last month with The Economic Club’s DAVID RUBENSTEIN. “I have my four shots of espresso, do some reading. And then I go.” Running is so pervasive a hobby among White House staff that it’s become a common topic around the water cooler. In between meetings and lunch sightings at Ike’s, Koh and Viswanathan often chat up Zients about their respective routines. And this year, they were able to convince the chief of staff to participate in the American Council of Life Insurers Capital Challenge, an annual charity race open to reporters, members of Congress and executive and judicial branch staffers. D.C. staffers aren’t often known for their athletic prowess. And aside from the occasional former college runner, the race is not particularly competitive. But since it first started in 1981, it’s become a way for beltway creatures to avoid checking email for almost an hour, show off their cringey workout gear and do their very best to cross the finish line without looking too rough. In other words, it’s a can’t miss event. While the Biden White House has had a respectable showing at the race in the past, interest in participating this year skyrocketed after Zients agreed to participate. And staffers are going all out. Koh workshopped team names, eventually landing on “Zients’ Zoomers.” Dozens of staffers are set to compete. And SILAS WOODS, personal aide to the second gentleman and deputy director for special projects, designed matching team T-shirts with an original hand-drawn cartoon of Zients.
|  A sneak-peak photo of the "Zients' Zoomers" official team jersey, exclusively obtained by West Wing Playbook. | Zients, who holds a 9:10 mile pace in a half-marathon, will be just the third sitting White House chief of staff to take part in the 3-mile race around the Anacostia Park. Podesta ran in 2000 when he served as BILL CLINTON’s chief of staff and DENIS MCDONOUGH ran in 2014 and 2016 as BARACK OBAMA’s chief of staff. (What happened to you, @RONKLAIN??) A number of other administration officials are also expected to run. Buttigieg is leading team “Running On Time & On Budget.” McDonough, now the secretary of the Veterans Administration, is competing for team “VA VA Vroom.” Solicitor General ELIZABETH PRELOGAR is captain of “Racing in the Morning Suits Us.” RACHEL BROWN, White House special assistant for economic policy, is leading team “Not Enough Competition.” The Biden press team is also showing up big. ANDREW BATES, MICHAEL KIKUKAWA, JEREMY EDWARDS and RACHEL THOMAS are competing on team “Briefing Vroom.” ROBYN PATTERSON, perhaps the most committed runner on that squad, is leading team “Pressed for Time,” along with EVAN ROMERO and SAM MICHEL. Some White House officials take the actual competition part more seriously than others. Koh’s team likely has the best shot of ranking after recruiting associate director of presidential scheduling PAUL ZEISS to participate (we’re told the former Cal track and field star holds a low five-minute mile pace… which is just gross). But for Zients, Wednesday’s race is just the warmup. He’s running another half-marathon this Sunday. MESSAGE US — Are you JING QU, chief of staff to the senior adviser and office of speechwriting? 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 ACLI, Finseca, IRI, NAFA and NAIFA: Annuities deliver financial certainty like traditional pensions of old. They are a legally enforceable promise made by an insurance company to provide guaranteed monthly income throughout retirement. The Department of Labor’s fiduciary-only rule will shut down access to options for middle-income savers. It’s out of step with bipartisan support in Congress to expand access to guaranteed lifetime income. Congress needs to stand up for retirement savers. Protect retirement for all. | | | | | Which former vice president ran in the Capital Challenge three times? (Answer at bottom.)
| | NEW TARIFFS JUST DROPPED: The Biden administration unveiled sweeping tariffs Tuesday on $18 billion of Chinese goods in an effort to fight what the U.S. says are unfair trade practices from China. The president called for a quadrupling of tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, as well as higher duties on metals and other clean energy products, our GAVIN BADE reports. Biden announced the move in the White House Rose Garden, taking a jab at his predecessor. When asked to respond to DONALD TRUMP saying China is “eating our lunch,” Biden quipped back, “He’s been feeding them a long time.” WHAT’S THIS? ANOTHER INTERVIEW? After the recent caterwauling on Eighth Avenue about Biden’s reluctance to do substantive interviews, the White House continues to respond. Sorta. Following last week’s interview with CNN’s ERIN BURNETT in Wisconsin, the president spoke with Yahoo Finance’s BRIAN SOZZI in the Diplomatic Reception Room on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the new tariffs. But you couldn’t call it a sit-down because, well, they never sat down. Sozzi posted the full interview: a clip that ran 2 minutes and 44 seconds. We’re guessing that’s not quite what A.G. SULZBERGER was looking for, although the trendline is positive. Sozzi got interviews with other senior administration officials, too, for a package that’ll air on what the White House notes is the country’s most visited website for financial news. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: This post on X by Israeli President ISAAC HERZOG thanking Biden for his personal letter commemorating the 76th anniversary of Israel’s statehood. “The important bond between our nations is indeed ironclad and steadfast,” Herzog wrote, echoing Biden’s own language in his letter. The post was shared by White House communications director BEN LABOLT, deputy communications director HERBIE ZISKEND and SHELLEY GREENSPAN, the White House liaison to the American Jewish community. This exchange affirming Biden’s overall support for Israel comes after several pro-Israel Democrats criticized the president for threatening to withhold some munitions should Israel escalate its campaign in Rafah. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: This piece by NYT’s KELLEN BROWNING and NICHOLAS NEHAMAS, who write that two of Biden’s biggest problems — his weakness with Hispanic voters and pessimism over his handling of the economy — are magnified in Nevada. In Monday’s NYT/Siena poll, Biden was down by 12 points in the battleground state, which no Republican candidate has won since 2004. With Nevada’s economy struggling to recover from the pandemic, 61 percent of registered voters in the poll said they trusted Trump to do a better job fixing it, compared with just 32 percent who said they trusted Biden. Nevada Democrats acknowledge they have a challenge ahead of them. “Like everything in organizing, it’s not going to be easy,” said TED PAPPAGEORGE, the secretary-treasurer of the state’s 60,000-member Culinary Workers Union. “But we do have a plan to win.”
| | | | THE GOLD STANDARD OF POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. Throughout the election and the legislative and regulatory pushes that will follow, POLITICO Pro is indispensable to those who need to make informed decisions fast. The Pro platform dives deeper into critical and quickly evolving sectors and industries—finance, defense, technology, healthcare, energy—equipping policymakers and those who shape legislation and regulation with essential news and intelligence from the world’s best politics and policy journalists.
Our newsroom is deeper, more experienced, and better sourced than any other—with teams embedded in the world’s most active legislative and regulatory power centers. From Brussels to Washington, New York to London, Sacramento to Paris, we bring subscribers inside the conversations that determine policy outcomes and the future of industries, providing insight that cannot be found anywhere else. Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY. | | | | | | | | REAL TALK: Democratic pollster JEFREY POLLOCK, who has become one of the Biden campaign’s top researchers, acknowledged the reality of Biden trailing Trump across several swing states in Monday’s NYT/Siena poll. “All of the data consistently shows that our campaign needs to do better with younger voters, Black voters and with Hispanic voters,” Pollock said on TNR’s GREG SARGENT’s podcast. “There’s clear evidence that we are not doing well enough, the Biden campaign is underperforming with those groups.” Still, Pollock believes that the campaign’s financial advantage will help win them over between now and November. SPEAKING OF, THIS MIGHT HELP: The political wing of the largest Latino civil rights organization in the U.S. officially endorsed President Biden’s re-election campaign on Tuesday, CBS’ NIDIA CAVAZOS and FIN GÓMEZ report. “The choice for Latino voters is really clear,” UnidosUS Action Fund President and CEO JANET MURGUÍA said at an event in Phoenix. “With Biden, we can move forward and continue to advance on a path to progress and to a brighter future.” The group will focus on mobilizing over 2 million Latino voters in Arizona. The campaign also debuted a new health care focused ad targeting Latino voters, delivered in Spanish and English.
| | OFF THE INJURY REPORT: National Security Adviser JAKE SULLIVAN plans to travel to Saudi Arabia and Israel this weekend, amid an ongoing Israeli military operation into Rafah, Axios’ BARAK RAVID reports. Sullivan’s trip to Saudi Arabia was initially planned for April, but was postponed last minute after he cracked a rib.
| | | | A message from ACLI, Finseca, IRI, NAFA and NAIFA:   | | | | | MEA CULPA: In yesterday’s Agenda Setting, we incorrectly referred to KURT CAMPBELL as the No. 2 at the Department of Defense. He is the deputy secretary of state, making him the No. 2 at the State Department, not the DOD. BECAUSE SURELY EVERYONE LIKES TO PAY MORE: A group of U.S. airlines is suing the Biden administration over its new rule forcing the disclosure of any “junk fees” as part of the upfront cost of airfare, WaPo’s HANNAH SAMPSON reports. The group, which includes American, Delta, United, JetBlue, Alaska and Hawaiian, argued for the rule to be vacated over it being “arbitrary,” “capricious” and outside the Department of Transportation’s authority. The rule, which the DOT says could save consumers more than $500 million per year, was finalized last month and is set to take effect on July 1. Airlines and travel booking sites will be required to immediately show extra fees for checked bags, carrying on a bag, changing a reservation or canceling a reservation. Former deputy national economic council director BHARAT RAMAMURTI noted in a post on X (which several administration officials shared) that Biden is also being sued by the pharmaceutical industry over his efforts to lower drug prices and by the banking industry over his crackdown on credit card late fees. “These groups aren’t doing it for fun,” he wrote. LIVE FROM KYIV: Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN arrived in Ukraine on Tuesday, seeking to reassure Ukrainian leaders of ongoing U.S. support, our SEB STARCEVIC reports. The visit comes as Russia begins a new military offensive in the northeast Ukranian city of Kharkiv. Blinken will use the trip to “send a strong signal of reassurance” to Kyiv and how American aid will help Ukrainian forces “take back the initiative on the battlefield.” And of course, how could Blinken go to Kyiv without performing NEIL YOUNG’s “Rocking to the Free World” to bar-going Ukrainians? The weapons and aid may have been delayed six months. But it’s the minor fall and the major lift that will beat back Russia.
| | How Biden’s Trade War With China Differs From Trump’s (NYT’s Jim Tankersley) Hunter Biden loses latest bid to delay trial even as lawyer pleads he isn’t ready (POLITICO’s Betsy Woodruff Swan) U.S. threats led to rupture of vital military ties, Nigerien leader says (WaPo’s Rachel Chason) The Democrats Have a Joe Biden Problem (TNR’s Alex Shephard)
| | | | A message from ACLI, Finseca, IRI, NAFA and NAIFA: Annuities close retirement security gaps for workers.
They help people navigate anxieties about savings lasting throughout retirement amid economic uncertainty and market volatility.
Congress recognized the real challenges people are facing and the importance of annuities in addressing them. Bipartisan legislation in 2019 and 2022 made guaranteed lifetime income more accessible to savers.
The Department of Labor’s fiduciary-only rule undermines this good work by limiting access to options for a protected retirement. Congress needs to act to protect options for retirement savers. Protect retirement for all. | | | | | When you enter JARED BERNSTEIN’s Wikipedia page, this is the first line you’ll read: “Jared Bernstein is an American musician who is the chair of the United States Council of Economic Advisers.” And a few lines down, it claims that he was a “mainstay on the jazz scene in NYC” during the 80s. Mainstay, you say? Bernstein grew up in a “musical family,” catching the bug after his mother forced him to go to a concert featuring MOZART’s flute and harp concerto. “I was being bratty and refused to sit with her … Despite my best efforts, I got completely absorbed by that piece,” he said in a 2018 interview. After that, Bernstein worked to make his dream of being a musician a reality, starting a band with his buddies and enrolling in the Manhattan School of Music. While at MSM, Bernstein studied how to perfect the double bass with legendary bassist ORIN O’BRIEN. And to this day, albeit not in a professional capacity, Bernstein is still strumming those strings.
| | Former Vice President MIKE PENCE participated in the race three times — 2007, 2009 and 2010 — while he served as a congressman from Indiana. His wife, KAREN PENCE, and two children also competed during that time. 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 Sam Stein and Rishika Dugyala.
| | | | LISTEN TO POLITICO'S ENERGY PODCAST: Check out our daily five-minute brief on the latest energy and environmental politics and policy news. Don't miss out on the must-know stories, candid insights, and analysis from POLITICO's energy team. Listen today. | | | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
Comments
Post a Comment