Transition from hell

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Sep 30, 2022 View in browser   By Max Tani and Alex Thompson Presented by Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. With help from Allie Bice.   Send tips | Subscribe here| Email Alex | Email Max While DONALD TRUMP was attempting to prevent then President-elect JOE BIDEN from ascending to office in the months after the election, his staff was determined to create headaches small and large for their eventual replacements. The current occupant of the White House does not figure heavily in MAGGIE HABERMAN's highly-anticipated book, "Confidence Man," which chronicles Trump's rise from outer borough rich kid to New York real estate mogul to president. But excerpts of the new book shared with West Wing Playbook show how in the final days of his presidency, Trump's team took steps to sabotage their successors. Haberman reported that an employee of JOHN MCENTEE, who served as Trump's director of the Presidential Personnel Office, stuffed copies of photos of HUNTER BIDEN into an air conditioning unit at the White House, breaking it. The moment was a particularly petty representation of the disregard even rank-and-file staff had for the people who would soon be taking their jobs. The direct interactions between Trump and Biden's senior staff weren't much better. Haberman noted that top members of Biden's team were baffled by the behavior of their counterparts in the Trump White House. Even White House chief of staff MARK MEADOWS , who paid lip service to easing the transition, simultaneously seemed to encourage the cohort of Trump world figures pushing to keep the president in office. "I know the president's saying these things… we'll get it worked out," Meadows reportedly told his successor, RON KLAIN, of Trump's questions about election integrity. Yet, Meadows did so while texting Supreme Court Justice CLARENCE THOMAS' wife, GINNI THOMAS, who was disputing election results and pushing for the internal elevation of election conspiracy theorist SIDNEY POWELL. "This is a fight of good versus evil," Meadows told Thomas, according to Haberman. The Biden transition team was repeatedly stymied. They were delayed in receiving information from the Pentagon and hindered in getting personal access to Covid-19 vaccines in the first days of their rollout when shots were limited to essential workers. "I told them to fix it," Meadows told Klain at the time. But according to Haberman, nothing changed. At other moments, Meadows balked at the Biden team's requests outright. He refused to grant them access to a computer system needed to begin working on the president's budget, telling the team that they "just can't expect us to endorse your spending plans." And when Klain said the president-elect needed to start receiving the intelligence briefing, Meadows asked how many days a week Biden wanted to get it. Haberman reported that Klain was "dumbstruck" by the question, and replied that Biden wanted it every day, just like he had as vice president. Meadows responded that "no president ever does that. That's never happened." "It seemed so beyond Meadows' own experience that he could not comprehend it," Haberman wrote. Haberman's book, which will be officially released next week, is already causing waves in political media circles. In particular, the bits about Trump's attempts to subvert the 2020 election have renewed criticism from liberals and #resistance types who complain that she should have attempted to publish her information in real time (though these critics often fail to mention that Haberman was regularly reporting on the rocky transition at the time). Klain makes one other cameo. According to an excerpt obtained by the Washington Post, during the 2016 campaign, Klain was part of bizarre internal discussions by HILLARY CLINTON's campaign about a theory that Trump might try to poison the former secretary of state by shaking before their presidential debate. The future chief of staff, for his part, thought it seemed unrealistic that Trump could poison Clinton without poisoning himself as well. The White House, which normally says they do not comment on political books, declined West Wing Playbook's request for comment. MESSAGE US — Are you MARK MEADOWS? Email us at westwingtips@politico.com and we may publish your comments. A message from the American Petroleum Institute: New technology is cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Learn more.   POTUS PUZZLER This one is from reader ALEX PENLER. Which first lady was nicknamed "the silver fox" for sporting gray hair? (Answer at the bottom.) Cartoon of the Week Cartoon by Gary Varvel | Courtesy It's Friday and you know what that means — it's cartoon feature time! This one's by GARY VARVEL. Our very own MATT WUERKER also publishes a selection of cartoons from all over the country. View the cartoon carousel here.   SUBSCRIBE TO POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don't miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY.     The Oval SANCTIONS ON SANCTIONS: The Biden administration announced new sanctions Friday on Russia in response to its annexation of four Ukrainian territories. They were announced after Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN declared the provinces as Russian territories based on sham referendums that took place this week. President Biden called the annexation claims "phony" and said Putin's actions "have no legitimacy." Our BRYAN BENDER and KELLY HOPPER have more details. RELATED : Lots of things are happening in the national security space today which is why we suggest reading ALEXANDER WARD's National Security Daily. Here's Friday's edition, in case you missed it.  L'SHANA TOVA, WH PRESS CORPS : The White House changed tack and allowed everyone who applied for reporting credentials into the East Room for today's Rosh Hashanah. The White House press team had been stingy about opening up access even after Covid precautions had been relaxed. But, we suppose, the Jewish new year called for a new approach. Unfortunately, some people with such credentials jumped onto the press riser during the event which caused the video feed to shake and jostle about. Don't do that again people. We will name names next time! THEY GROW UP SO FAST: HANNAH KLAIN, the daughter of chief of staff RON KLAIN, recently joined New York Gov. KATHY HOCHUL's staff as an assistant counsel, POLITICO's NICK NIEDZWIADEK told us. The younger Klain started Sept. 19, according to the governor's office, after wrapping up a clerkship in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals under Judge STEPHEN HIGGINSON. Like her father, Klain got her law degree from Harvard. NOTABLE: At Friday's Rosh Hashanah event with VP KAMALA HARRIS, Biden said: "Kamala won't be the last woman to be vice president — or president." STAYING ON THE OFFENSE: WaPo's MATT VISER dives into the rhetoric the president has been using as he hits the campaign trail ahead of the midterms. Biden's public appearances of late have targeted three prominent Republicans — Sens. RICK SCOTT (Fla.), RON JOHNSON (Wisc.) and House Minority Leader KEVIN MCCARTHY (Calif.). Biden mentioned the trio at an event Wednesday and continued to draw a stark contrast between the parties: "This is a different breed of cat. This is not — this is not your father's Republican Party." SPEAKING OF McCARTHY: The House GOP Leader went to the Biden White House today for a small ceremony to name a post office after late Rep. JACKIE WALORSKI. It's a rare White House visit for McCarthy, who has rarely spoken to Biden. And yes, Walorski is the Indiana congresswoman the president searched for earlier this week, seemingly unaware that she had passed. THE BUREAUCRATS FIRST IN WEST WING PLAYBOOK: ARIANA MUSHNICK is the White House's new director of digital rapid response and AARON WILSON WATSON is coming on as a senior video producer, the White House confirmed after we asked about a tip (reminder – send tips!). A White House official said that Mushnick is creating a "new vertical" in digital that will work with progressive partners. She's coming from the Center of American Progress, which often works with some of those groups. Watson most recently was leading video and photo and the College of New Jersey and also worked previously in Gov. PHIL MURPHY 's office. He was hired as the White House's digital team "pivots more towards short vertical videos." MORE PERSONNEL SCOOPS: ZAYN SIDDIQUE has been named deputy assistant to the president and deputy director of the Domestic Policy Council for economic mobility, DANIEL LIPPMAN has learned. He currently is special assistant to the president and senior adviser to deputy chief of staff BRUCE REED. DPC director SUSAN RICE told West Wing Playbook in a statement: "I'm very excited that Zayn Siddique will be bringing his smarts, judgment, and exceptional collegiality to the Domestic Policy Council." Reed, meanwhile, said: "Zayn is one of the most talented and decent people I've ever worked with — and I've been doing this a long time. He has outstanding policy judgment and is a brilliant lawyer with a limitless future." JIM SECRETO is now counselor to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States at the Treasury Department. He most recently was special assistant to the president and director of confirmations at the office of legislative affairs at the White House. HANNAH EDWARDS is now White House liaison at the Department of Homeland Security, Lippman has also learned. She most recently was director of scheduling and advance for the U.S. Trade Representative. EYES ON POWELL: Fed Reserve Chair JAY POWELL is having his moment in the spotlight as the central bank works to fight inflation that threatens to leave a path of destruction on the global economy in its wake. Our VICTORIA GUIDA and JOHANNA TREECK highlights his efforts in their latest.   A message from the American Petroleum Institute:   What We're Reading FEMA Chief 'Adds a Human Touch' to Disaster Response (NYT's Eileen Sullivan) Biden vows US commitment to Pacific Islands at summit (AP's Aamer Madhani, Matthew Lee and Darlene Superville) What We're Watching FEMA Administrator DEANNE CRISWELL on Fox News Sunday at 9 a.m. ET.   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.     The Oppo Book KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS, Biden's senior adviser for public engagement, has a stark rule for long term partnerships — if you're together long enough, he or she carries responsibility for your flaws. On the 28th anniversary of meeting her husband, back in 2019, she tweeted that since they've "been together for more than half of my life, I told him that he is equally culpable for any bad traits that I have that annoy him." Good rule of thumb! POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER First lady BARBARA BUSH was nicknamed "the silver fox" by her husband and children, according to PBS. A CALL OUT — Thanks to Alex for this question! Do you think you have a harder one? Send us your best one about the presidents with a citation and we may feature it. Edited by Eun Kyung Kim and Sam Stein. A message from the American Petroleum Institute: CO2 emissions in the U.S. are among the lowest levels in a generation thanks to innovative tech and partnerships across the country. Learn more.     Follow us on Twitter Alex Thompson @AlexThomp Maxwell Tani @maxwelltani Allie Bice @alliebice   Follow us

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