Ketanji, the high school years

Feb 25, 2022 View in browser   By Max Tani and Alex Thompson Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration.  Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Max STEPHEN ROSENTHAL is proud that his high school classmate KETANJI JACKSON is JOE BIDEN's nominee to fill the upcoming vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court. He just wishes he'd considered that possibility before posing with an embarrassing prop for a picture with her that would go viral more than 30 years later. Shortly after JAKE TAPPER broke the news that Jackson was Biden's pick for the Supreme Court, the CNN anchor tweeted a picture from the Miami Palmetto High School yearbook in which Rosenthal was, for reasons that are now unclear to him, holding a teddy bear. "I treasure that somebody came up with the idea in 1987 to have someone pose that way," Rosenthal said in a conversation with West Wing Playbook. "I probably got teased in high school by someone for carrying a teddy bear, and now it's all coming back." A picture of a young Ketanji Brown Jackson and Stephen Rosenthal | Screenshot of CNN's Jake Tapper's tweet Jackson's nomination to the court has sparked excitement among her former high school classmates, many of whom still consider the former debate nerd, who was known for putting on her own one-act plays, to be a close friend. Two Palmetto High alums told West Wing Playbook that Jackson, who was the equivalent of the high school class president, continues to engage with former classmates, including organizing their 1988 graduating class reunions. When her nomination was announced on Friday, an email listserv with some members of the graduating class blew up with excitement. Republican Sen. LINDSEY GRAHAM (S.C.) lamented Friday on Twitter that Jackson's nomination proved that "The Harvard-Yale train to the Supreme Court continues to run unabated." And yes, Jackson does hold a BA and a JD from Harvard. But the Palmetto High pipeline to legal prominence (and prominence in public service — Surgeon General VIVEK MURTHY is also a grad) is noteworthy, as well. Among the fellow alumni who have ended up in high-profile legal posts is NATE PERSILY. An accomplished legal scholar at Stanford Law School, Persily is one of the few people who possesses an equally in-depth knowledge of the law and of Jackson as a person. The two have a decades-long friendship that began when they were 13-years-old. They were part of a prodigious debate squad at Palmetto High, whose members also included a future U.S. district attorney in Miami. Persily is an unabashed Jackson fan, listing off a number of positive personal and judicial attributes he believes she exhibits. He has remained close with Jackson over the years; she's come to speak to his law school classes, and he has sent promising young students her way when her office has searched for clerks. While several of Jackson's former high school classmates did not want to divulge much personal information about her, knowing a poorly-worded answer could cause headaches in a Senate confirmation fight, Persily scoffed at some of the arguments that Jackson's opponents have floated, mainly that she is an aggressively ideological judge who would zealously impose her values on the court. He said there was a reason, for example, why so many profiles of Jackson quoted her 2019 opinion ruling that former White House counsel DON MCGHAN must testify in House impeachment hearings, noting that "presidents are not kings." "You will try in vain to find other quotable sentences in a lot of her opinions," he said. "These are long expositions on complex legal issues and she leaves no stone unturned, that's the kind of person that she is." Rosenthal attended middle school, high school, college, and law school with Jackson, participating in school plays with her. The two attended each others' weddings. He said not only did he see her legal acumen develop in class, but he experienced it firsthand. He pointed out that in 2019, he represented clients appealing one of her rulings on the D.C. Circuit court. "I failed," he said. TEXT US — Are you KETANJI JACKSON, Biden's nominee to join the Supreme Court? We want to hear from you and we'll keep you anonymous.  Or if you think we missed something in today's edition, let us know and we may include it tomorrow. Email us at westwingtips@politico.com or you can text/Signal/Wickr Alex at 8183240098 or Max at 7143455427.   BECOME A GLOBAL INSIDER:  The world is more connected than ever. It has never been more essential to identify, unpack and analyze important news, trends and decisions shaping our future — and we've got you covered! Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Global Insider author Ryan Heath navigates the global news maze and connects you to power players and events changing our world. Don't miss out on this influential global community. Subscribe now.     POTUS PUZZLER From the University of Virginia's Miller Center  Which president's college career included placing last in his class, rebounding to graduate ranked fifth, marrying the daughter of the college president, and having a university named in his honor posthumously? Bonus points if you know which college he attended! (Answer at the bottom.) Cartoon of the Week Cartoon | Courtesy of Kevin Kallaugher/The Economist Every Friday, we'll feature a cartoon of the week — this one is courtesy of KEVIN KALLAUGHER. Our very own MATT WUERKER also publishes a selection of cartoons from all over the country. View the cartoon carousel here. The Oval EXITS — Vice President KAMALA HARRIS' head speechwriter, KATE CHILDS GRAHAM , had her last day today. We asked if there was a replacement lined up and a spokesperson said "not yet, hopefully soon!" In addition, our colleagues at POLITICO Influence report that BRITTANY CARMON, formerly associate director for legislative affairs in the Office of the Vice President, is now working as the federal clean vehicles and fuel senior advocate at the Natural Resources Defense Council. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: This Mediate article with the headline "Fox News Praises Biden's 'Very Impressive' Supreme Court Pick: 'Sterling Resume', Speech Was 'Really Terrific' and 'Pitch Perfect.'" The article, which JILL BIDEN's press secretary MICHAEL LaROSA retweeted, notes that "Fox News contributor and legal scholar JONATHAN TURLEY said Jackson's 'remarks were pitch perfect...They were terrific in terms of laying out the great honor that's been given to her, but also these compelling aspects of her life,'" he said. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN'T WANT YOU TO READ: This Wall Street Journal story by ALICIA CALDWELL and MICHELLE HACKMAN about prominent border aid groups "refusing the federal government's requests to provide legal representation to people in the program known as Remain in Mexico, in what they say is an effort to pressure the Biden administration to end it permanently….The aid groups say MPP puts asylum seekers in danger by sending them to high-crime border cities, often thousands of miles from their homes in Central or South America." KNOLLER CORNER : Biden is heading to Delaware this weekend, the White House announced this afternoon. Veteran White House reporter MARK KNOLLER tells us that this will be the president's 33rd trip to his home state while in office and his 28th weekend there since taking office. He's done 15 weekends at Camp David, 12 at the White House, 2 on foreign trips, and 1 at Nantucket. "As of his arrival this evening, he will have spent all or part of 102 days in Delaware," Knoller told us. TRAVEL POLITICS: Democrats howled to the moon when DONALD TRUMP would decamp to his properties on the weekend. It's a bit of a trivial critique because presidents can work from wherever they are. But if Kyiv falls this weekend—and there's a chance it may — Biden deciding to go to Delaware will give his opponents more fodder. It's true. You know it. Agenda Setting PAUL RYAN'S KBJ PRAISE —ANTHONY ANDRAGNA (follow him here! ) flags this 2012 clip of the former GOP House speaker, still seen as an intellectual heavyweight among some Republicans, noting that we are likely to see this video played throughout the SCOTUS confirmation process. In it, a then rapidly-rising Republican star, Rep. PAUL RYAN (R-Wis.), offered glowing words of recommendation for Jackson during her confirmation hearing to be a federal district court judge for the District of Columbia. "Our politics may differ, but my praise for Ketanji's intellect, her character, her integrity, it's unequivocal. She's an amazing person," Ryan told the Senate Judiciary Committee of Biden's future Supreme Court pick. They're related, by marriage — Jackson's husband is the twin brother of Ryan's brother-in-law. And Ryan described himself as a "character witness," adding that Jackson's entire family was "extremely proud of her." He emphasized: "I know she's clearly qualified, but it bears repeating just how qualified she is." Parts of Ryan's two-minute beaming recommendation even made it into the White House video unveiling Jackson as Biden's SCOTUS pick. The clip is also featured in a new million-dollar ad buy that liberal group Demand Justice launched today to support Jackson's confirmation, BURGESS EVERETT reports. EARLY GOP REACTION: Anthony has more on the GOP response to Biden's pick in Congress Minutes, including a clearly disappointed Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who had lobbied hard for home-state favorite J. MICHELLE CHILDS. ROLLOUT: The White House's whole SCOTUS team convened a call with liberal stakeholders today, a person on the call tells us. Senior adviser CEDRIC RICHMOND, counsel DANA REMUS, outside adviser MINYON MOORE, and former Sen. DOUG JONES, Jackson's Senate sherpa, all spoke. THE BUREAUCRATS PHARMA FIGHT AT FTC — The Federal Trade Commission's top economist, MARTA WOSINSKA, abruptly quit last week amid internal disagreements over a proposed study into pharmacy benefit managers, LEAH NYLEN reports. Agenda Setting CLEAR AS DAY OR CLEAR AS MUD? The CDC eased masking guidance today, relabeling locations that were once characterized as having high levels of Covid-19 as places of low- to medium-risk. As The Washington Post reports: "CDC is also changing its school guidance based on the new metrics; it is recommending universal school masking only in communities with high levels of diseases. Its previous recommendation, dating to last July was for universal masking in schools no matter the level of covid-19." Not everyone felt it was a win. Former Obama adviser DAVID AXELROD tweeted : "Am I the only one trying [to] figure [out] whether my community-and ones I'm traveling to-are high, moderate or low risk so i know whether to wear a mask indoors under this new CDC advisory? Is there a guide? Why does it always have to be so confusing? [crazy face emoji]." Chief of Staff RON KLAIN quote tweeted Axelrod, writing: "There is a guide, @davidaxelrod: Go to http://cdc.gov, and click on the big blue button that says 'Check Your County.'" FROZEN: The U.S. joined the European Union in freezing Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN and Foreign Minister SERGEY LAVROV's assets this afternoon, ALEX WARD reports for NatSec Daily, but didn't ban them from traveling to and within the bloc. "In alignment with the decision by our European allies, the United States will join them in sanctioning President Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov and members of the Russian national security team," press secretary JEN PSAKI said. The White House said further details on the sanctions would be forthcoming. What We're Reading The Other First: What it means to nominate a veteran public defender (NY Mag's Irin Carmon) 13 days: Inside Biden's last-ditch attempts to stop Putin in Ukraine (WaPo's Ashley Parker, Shane Harris, Michael Birnbaum and John Hudson) Senior Biden officials urged China to help avert war in Ukraine (NYT's Ed Wong) Post-ABC poll finds bipartisan support for sanctions on Russia as it invades Ukraine (WaPo's Scott Clement, Emily Guskin and Dan Balz)   DON'T MISS CONGRESS MINUTES: Need to follow the action on Capitol Hill blow-by-blow? Check out Minutes, POLITICO's new platform that delivers the latest exclusives, twists and much more in real time. Get it on your desktop or download the POLITICO mobile app for iOS or Android. CHECK OUT CONGRESS MINUTES HERE.     Where's Joe The president met with NATO heads of state for a virtual summit to discuss the Russia-Ukraine conflict and received the President's Daily Brief. He also spoke to Ukraine President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY in the afternoon. Biden delivered remarks announcing his decision to nominate Judge Jackson to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court. In the evening, the President and the first lady will travel to Wilmington, Del., where they will remain over the weekend. Where's Kamala She attended the president's remarks about Jackson's nomination. The Oppo Book Deputy press secretary ANDREW BATES celebrated his birthday last year by watching what he claims to be two Oscar-award winning films. To kick off the celebration, he and his girlfriend got "a late curbside takeout dinner from the Grecian Corner, my family's favorite restaurant in Winston-Salem, N.C.," he told POLITICO back in 2021. Then the two of them watched "two Oscar-winners back to back: 'The Rock' and 'Blades of Glory.'" Our fact checking says "Blades of Glory" didn't take home an Oscar. In response, Bates said that "all the Beige Volvo movies are Oscar winners in my book." Makes sense. POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER FRANKLIN PIERCE, who attended Bowdoin College and graduated in the class of 1824. Ten years later he married JANE MEANS APPLETON, the daughter of JESSE APPLETON, Bowdoin's president from 1807 until his death in 1819. Franklin Pierce University, in Pierce's home state of New Hampshire, was founded in 1962. For information on Pierce and the rest of the presidents, visit millercenter.org. A CALL OUT — Do you have a better trivia question? Send us your hardest trivia question on the presidents and we may feature it on Wednesdays. Edited by Emily Cadei   Follow us on Twitter Alex Thompson @AlexThomp Maxwell Tani @maxwelltani Allie Bice @alliebice   Follow us

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