Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. With help from Daniel Lippman. Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Alex President JOE BIDEN doesn't like to fire people. Some people say it's the result of a culture that revolves around loyalty in which Biden often beknights people an "honorary Biden" and part of the family, making it difficult to dismiss them. He sometimes even begs them to stay when they want to leave. Other people say that even though he can be tough on staff, he's uncomfortable dealing with the interpersonal conflict that comes with taking away someone's job. But as the polls for Democrats grow increasingly grim ahead of the midterm election, the pressure on Biden to shake up his staff is growing more acute. And people inside the White House, as well as Democrats on the Hill and other close Biden allies are wondering if and hoping he will have the stomach for it. For now, the expectation is that some White House officials will leave on their own after a draining two years. But several people close to Biden inside and outside the White House want him to go further. They believe he has been ill-served by his staff on some high profile issues and think the White House could use fresh voices. As evidence of a presidency that could have been better served, those people most often cite the over-confident "Independence from Covid-19" event on the White House lawn last summer before the waves of Delta and Omicron variants hit, and Biden's insistence as late as July 19, 2021 that inflation was temporary. People also point out that Biden has had a disapproval rating above 50 percent for over a year. The hope is, among this crew, that even if Biden doesn't want to ask for resignations, some staff can be subtly shown the door. But others inside and outside the White House see virtue in continuity even if Democrats get drubbed in the midterm elections. They argue that Biden's team has performed better than expected under extraordinarily daunting conditions when they entered office. In particular, they point to the legislative successes over the summer — including the Inflation Reduction act, the CHIPS bill, the legislation to give care to "burn pits" victims — along with the bipartisan infrastructure bill. In fact, some people in the White House are hoping people like chief of staff RON KLAIN will stay to ensure stability. They argue that Klain is uniquely suited to handle the voluminous incoming on a daily basis and has a partisan edge that is well-suited to navigate a White House with an opposition party controlling (at least one branch of) Congress. So while there has been a steady drip of stories documenting Biden and the First Lady's frustration with staff over several issues the last year, the possibility is very much alive that the most senior officials in the White House remain the same next year regardless of the outcomes of the midterms. After we sent the outlines of this story to the White House, spokesperson ROBYN PATTERSON said in a statement: "As factual as everything else West Wing Playbook prints." We count that as confirmation. MESSAGE US — Are you staff assistant JOSHUA WALDMAN? We want to hear from you! And we'll keep you anonymous! Email us at westwingtips@politico.com .
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