The roots of a Tai-Rahm confrontation

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Feb 28, 2022 View in browser   By Alex Thompson, Gavin Bade, Max Tani and Daniel Lippman Presented by Facebook 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 In December, Ambassador to Japan RAHM EMANUEL met with U.S. Trade Representative KATHERINE TAI ahead of his move abroad. Lowering trade barriers is near the top of Japan's to-do list — they still want the U.S. to rejoin the Trans-Pacific Partnership, for instance — and Emanuel wanted to get started on the issue. The meeting in Tai's office went poorly with the two clashing over both style and substance, according to three officials briefed on the exchange. It went so badly that Emanuel returned in January for a do-over. That interaction ended more amicably and with some progress on policy, with the two subsequently working together to craft an important agreement with Japan to lift some tariffs. Still, Biden's ambassador to Japan told Tai in blunt terms during the second meeting that her relationships with the White House were poor and she should work on fixing them, according to those officials. Emanuel acknowledged the initial meeting was strained but said there were no hard feelings, telling West Wing Playbook in a statement that "like other people we had a meeting that didn't go well, we both agreed that wasn't constructive, reached out and had a second very good meeting and the net result was a close collaboration." ADAM HODGE, a spokesperson for USTR, said in a statement that "Tai has focused on delivering results for the President. Washington pettiness and drivel won't distract USTR from continuing to put points on the board for American workers and businesses." USTR officials said they are working closely with Emanuel to strengthen the U.S.-Japan relationship. Tai, the former chief trade counsel for the House Ways and Means Committee whom the Senate confirmed 98-0, has her detractors and defenders alike, according to several administration officials and people familiar with the dynamic. She has largely thrilled outside labor groups and most of the congressional Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee. But she and USTR have clashed with a number of senior Biden administration officials involved with trade policy including national security adviser JAKE SULLIVAN, Commerce Secretary GINA RAIMONDO, and coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs KURT CAMPBELL who is on the National Security Council. Some of the confrontations are the result of Tai's dot-all-the-i's, cross-all-the-t's approach which saw her derail a plan for tariffs on China in favor of new talks with Beijing. Others are due to her sharp-elbowed defense of her turf, and her belief that Congress should be continually consulted. As one senior administration official who regularly interacts with USTR put it: "There's a very fundamental reluctance on this version of USTR to do anything that involves any amount of risk-taking." The official described Tai's approach as "normal bureaucratic turfiness taken to a degree that's made USTR particularly difficult to work with for a lot of folks." NSC spokesperson EMILY HORNE said in a statement that Tai "is a valued member of the President's team, and USTR is a valued partner of the NSC. Together, we're focused on delivering on President Biden's agenda for working people – not warmed-over gossip." A Department of Commerce spokesperson declined to comment. The conflicts are also part of a high-stakes battle over the future of American trade policy and the approach toward China with the politics of trade having muddled the politics within both parties in recent years. Tai has told people that she believes that TPP, which was led and championed by President BARACK OBAMA, cost Democrats the 2016 election. She has repeatedly described her approach as "worker-centered." That's seen her emphasize USTR's efforts to enforce labor and environmental standards, like pushing Mexico to crack down on union busting in auto part factories. AFL-CIO President LIZ SHULER told POLITICO in an interview last week that Tai is "an example of how the Biden administration is looking through the perspective of workers in everything they do." Tai's team points to recent steel tariff deals with Europe and Japan and the resolution of the long running Boeing-Airbus dispute as evidence she has corporate interests in mind too. But that hasn't stopped business leaders from complaining. Indeed, corporate lobbyists have increased their engagement with Raimondo, who is seen as more pro-business. The commerce secretary, who has a lot of fans inside the West Wing, has publicly taken the lead in preliminary talks on the administration's proposed Indo-Pacific Economic Framework in Asia, a responsibility that would typically fall to the trade chief. That has prompted some classic turf battles. Last fall, some of Tai's allies on Ways and Means considered sending a letter to the White House on the framework that pointed out that USTR, and not Commerce, should lead new trade negotiations. The letter was ultimately never sent. USTR disputed any tussle between rival agencies and said neither Tai nor USTR officials had a role in developing a letter. In addition to Raimondo, Tai has had tension with the White House's national security team over China. Last year, POLITICO reported that opposition from Tai held up a plan for new tariffs on Chinese imports pushed by Sullivan, one of the administration's most aggressive China hawks. Tai argued that the U.S. first had to open talks with Beijing on its failure to meet the terms of the "Phase One" trade deal signed with President DONALD TRUMP, and that announcing new tariffs would poison those discussions. Tai won that argument and announced last October she would begin talks with Beijing. But no new tariffs or trade restrictions have been announced. Tensions between Tai and Sullivan boiled over in the fall, when she confronted him in the Situation Room over what she believed were leaks from NSC staff to the press about their trade policy disagreements, as Axios first reported. Tai and Sullivan released a statement insisting that they are on good terms, but debates over how to handle trade and China policy continue in the administration. Said one person familiar with the dynamics of the situation: "I think she is in the middle of a fight within the administration over China strategy and she's the collateral damage." TEXT US — Are you NORA TODD, Katherine Tai's former chief of staff who recently moved to the NSC? 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. A message from Facebook: Why Facebook supports updated internet regulations Paige is one of many experts working on privacy at Facebook—to give you more control over your information. Hear from Paige on why Facebook supports updating regulations on the internet's most pressing challenges, including federal privacy legislation.   POTUS PUZZLER From the University of Virginia's Miller Center  Which president, upset with the influence of special interests in Congress, referred to a taxation committee as "a pack of ravenous wolves"? (Answer at the bottom.) The Oval MEET THE PRESS — Ever the institutionalist, Biden is keeping another tradition popular among the White House press alive. Multiple sources told West Wing Playbook that the president is set to sit down with on-air representatives from the major TV news networks on Tuesday before his State of the Union, continuing the tradition in which the president briefs top TV news anchors on the evening's speech, and answers questions. SPOTTED: First lady JILL BIDEN was seen wearing a face mask that "features a large embroidered sunflower, the national flower of Ukraine, in solidarity," CNN's Kate Bennett reports. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: This Vox piece, shared by chief of staff RON KLAIN , explaining why the U.S. is unlikely to enforce a "no-fly zone" over Ukraine. The president, press secretary JEN PSAKI, and other administration officials have all emphatically pushed back against questions from some reporters about whether the U.S. would attempt to take control of the skies over Ukraine, a move that would represent a massive escalation risking direct war between the U.S. and Russia. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN'T WANT YOU TO READ: Over the past several months, Americans have quit jobs in record numbers, a sign that some economists argue suggests the job market is strong for workers. But the Wall Street Journal explored the darker side of this trend. The paper found that many workers were quitting jobs because while they found that employment was easy to find, they were not receiving enough hours.   SUBSCRIBE TO NATIONAL SECURITY DAILY : Keep up with the latest critical developments from Ukraine and across Europe in our daily newsletter, National Security Daily. The Russian invasion of Ukraine could disrupt the established world order and result in a refugee crisis, increased cyberattacks, rising energy costs and additional disruption to global supply chains. Go inside the top national security and foreign-policymaking shops for insight on the global threats faced by the U.S. and its allies and what actions world leaders are taking to address them. Subscribe today.     Advise and Consent SCOTUS CONFIRMATION PROCESS BEGINS — The Senate Judiciary Committee is aiming to begin Judge KETANJI BROWN JACKSON's Supreme Court confirmation hearings March 21, a Democratic aide tells MARIANNE LeVINE. And LAURA BARRÓN LÓPEZ scoops that Jackson is meeting this week with Senate Minority Leader MITCH McCONNELL , as well as with Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER and the chair and ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sens. DICK DURBIN (D-Ill.) and CHUCK GRASSLEY (R-Iowa). Agenda Setting FORECAST: CLOUDY — In an interview with POLITICO's Women Rule earlier today, White House Council of Economic Advisers chair CECILIA ROUSE warned that Russia's invasion of Ukraine has "clouded" the economic outlook for the United States in the coming year, MYAH WARD reports. Rouse said the biggest concern for the U.S. is rising gas prices, though she noted Biden is working with allies and partners to find solutions, including additional releases from the nation's strategic petroleum reserves. THE BUREAUCRATS MAKING AN EXCEPTION — The Biden administration gave NOAA senior adviser ADENA LIEBMAN a waiver from the president's ethics pledge , E&E's KEVIN BOGARDUS reports.   A message from Facebook:   What We're Reading Ketanji Brown Jackson's nomination to the Supreme Court signals historic change (Anita Hill in URL Media) Biden vows nursing home crackdown ahead of State of the Union (WaPo's Dan Diamond and Rachel Roubein) Biden sends former top defense officials to Taiwan in show of support (Reuters' Michael Martina and David Brunnstrom) Zelensky pushes Biden on no-fly zone (Axios' Jonathan Swan, Zachary Basu, Sophia Cai) Where's Joe The president returned to the White House from Delaware this morning. He received the President's Daily Brief in the Oval Office. He also spoke with leaders about the Russia-Ukraine conflict in the afternoon. Those on the call included: Canadian Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU, European Commission President URSULA VON DER LEYEN, European Council President CHARLES MICHEL, French President EMMANUEL MACRON, Chancellor of Germany OLAF SCHOLZ, Italian Prime Minister MARIO DRAGHI, Prime Minister of Japan FUMIO KISHIDA, NATO Secretary General JENS STOLTENBERG, Polish President ANDRZEJ DUDA, Romanian President KLAUS IOHANNIS and U.K. Prime Minister BORIS JOHNSON.  He and first lady Jill Biden hosted a Black History Month celebration with other administration officials and lawmakers. Where's Kamala She joined the president for the daily brief in the morning. She and second gentleman DOUG EMHOFF also attended the Black History Month celebration hosted by the president.   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.     The Oppo Book One thing about climate envoy JOHN KERRY — he loves to windsurf. Famously pictured doing so during his 2004 campaign, he spoke to American Windsurfer 12 years later—in 2016 . He said of windsurfing, there's "a combination of skills as well as emotions and sensation. It's a mixture of skiing, flying, sailing, and the great challenge of walking on water. But it's also a form of meditation." "It all fits into that exhilaration that comes from the combination of all these forces coming together," he added. "It's just very, very dynamic and at the same time it is amazingly peaceful, a great sense of, as I said, meditation. I find it's really a great getaway." POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER JIMMY CARTER, who was famously aloof from Congress and frustrated by it throughout his single term as president. For more on Carter and his presidency, 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 A message from Facebook: Why Facebook supports updated internet regulations Paige is one of many experts working on privacy at Facebook—to give you more control over your information. Hear from Paige on why Facebook supports updating regulations on the internet's most pressing challenges, including federal privacy legislation.     Follow us on Twitter Alex Thompson @AlexThomp Maxwell Tani @maxwelltani Allie Bice @alliebice   Follow us

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