Mitch did kill that vibe

The power players, latest policy developments, and intriguing whispers percolating inside the West Wing.

Feb 28, 2024 View in browser   By Eli Stokols, Jennifer Haberkorn, Lauren Egan and Ben Johansen 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 MITCH MCCONNELL’s announcement Wednesday that he would step aside as Senate GOP leader next year shocked official Washington — and it signaled anew that the political era he and long-serving contemporaries defined is coming to a close. In making his announcement, McConnell said that “it’s time for the next generation of leadership.” All of which served as a reminder of one of the Kentucky Republican’s longest-serving friendly rivals — President JOE BIDEN — who could end up being the last political dinosaur as he seeks another four-year term this fall that would keep him in office until the age of 86. McConnell’s reasoning for stepping aside echoed Biden’s 2020 promise that he would serve as a “bridge” to the next line of Democratic leaders. Unlike McConnell, Biden has refused to step aside. He’s done so largely out of a belief that only he can beat DONALD TRUMP, with whom McConnell has also sparred. But Biden has also been driven, more broadly, by a belief in a congenial kind of politics (one that is now mostly a distant memory) that defined the capital when both he and the Senate minority leader came of age. “I'm sorry to hear McConnell stepped down,” Biden said when asked about the news during an appearance Wednesday in the White House East Room. “I've trusted him and we have a great relationship. We fight like hell. But he has never, never, never misrepresented anything.” In an official statement recognizing how he and McConnell, despite being partisan adversaries over several decades, were able to build mutual trust, Biden pointed to their shared work on cancer research and the impact the Republican leader has had on his own presidency as proof of what can be accomplished when lawmakers set partisanship aside. But the fulsome tribute also served as tacit acknowledgment of how different a second term might be legislatively without him there. Elected, in part, to bring stability and collegiality to the country after the four chaotic, controversial Trump years, Biden took office determined to be more than a placeholder. And in many instances along the way, McConnell — the longest serving Senate leader, and enough of a friend to Biden to attend the funeral of his son, BEAU — helped fulfill his Rooseveltian ambitions. Aiming to protect the legislative filibuster, McConnell stayed open to forging agreements with Democrats. He supported bipartisan deals on gun safety, infrastructure and boosting domestic semiconductor manufacturing to compete with China during the first two years of Biden’s term, even appearing with the president at an event highlighting the repairs of a rundown Kentucky bridge due to funding from the infrastructure law. It was a far cry from a decade ago, when McConnell had said his foremost priority was to make BARACK OBAMA a one-term president. “Sen. McConnell is a conservative Republican who has foiled many policy objectives of Democratic presidents, but he is a straight shooter and has joined with the president to pursue progress on matters that should be beyond politics,” said RON KLAIN, who was Biden’s first chief of staff. “The president would always appreciate Sen. McConnell’s candor when saying he could not work with us on an issue, and his effectiveness when he found an area of common interest.” In recent months, McConnell blessed bipartisan negotiations on a border security measure that ran aground due to opposition from Trump. He also aligned himself with Biden on providing additional defense aid to Ukraine. While Senate Democrats fiercely still recoil at McConnell’s obstructionism — including his refusal to hold a vote on MERRICK GARLAND’s appointment to the Supreme Court during the Obama administration — many have grown a smidge of a soft spot for him during the Biden era. They see him as the last formidable Republican bulwark against Trump. That is true of Biden as well, who may welcome an unencumbered McConnell during the close of this general election but now faces a potential second term without a Senate GOP leader with whom he’s had decades of experience. McConnell will be the last of the four congressional leaders who served during Biden’s vice presidency to depart their posts. And Biden is not known to have meaningful relationships with any of the Republicans who may succeed McConnell. White House press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE downplayed that concern, pointing to recent bipartisan Senate votes as evidence that there is GOP support for Biden’s agenda beyond the man at the top of the conference. But on the Hill, the reaction among Democrats to the McConnell news was mixed. Some feared that the chamber could soon descend into a form of anarchy, or worse, the House. “We want a successor that will be willing to work together but what I worry about is when you look at the dysfunction in the House, does that dysfunction move over to the Senate?” said Sen. MARK KELLY (D-Ariz.). But others in the party were more serene. Political eras change, and leaders too. Biden may now be the last of that class to hang up his spikes. But it doesn’t mean that the governance ends with him. “So?” said Sen. DICK DURBIN. “Time marches on.” MESSAGE US — Are you GRACE LANDRIEU, director for economic policy and labor? 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!    SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, the newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world, including WEF in Davos, Milken Global in Beverly Hills, to UNGA in NYC and many more. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW.     POTUS PUZZLER Which multiple-term president holds the record for both the warmest January inauguration and the coldest? (Answer at bottom.) The Oval LET’S GET (POTUS’) PHYSICAL: The president’s trip this morning to Walter Reed Medical Center for his annual physical was a better kept secret than his appearance Monday on SETH MEYERS’ show. After an examination that lasted around three hours, Biden returned to the White House. The report from his physician, Dr. KEVIN O’CONNOR, was released late in the afternoon — and, like last year’s, concluded that Biden, the oldest person to ever hold the office, was “a healthy, active, robust 81-year-old male, who remains fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency.” O’Connor detailed a number of ailments Biden is being treated for: sleep apnea, Afib with normal ventricular response, hyperlipidemia, gastroesophageal reflux, seasonal allergies, spinal arthritis and sensory peripheral neuropathy of the feet. The president’s gait “remains stiff, but has not worsened since last year,” O’Connor wrote. Additionally, he noted that Biden has had some hip discomfort of late and incorporated a new stretching regime to improve his leg and core strength. FINALLY, EVERYONE CAN MAKE WEEKEND PLANS: Congressional leaders struck a tentative agreement on Wednesday to avert a partial government shutdown, our CAITLIN EMMA, JENNIFER SCHOLTES and OLIVIA BEAVERS report. Under the proposed plan, Congress would extend the funding deadline for one set of federal agencies to March 8. Another set of more contentious bills that would fund the Pentagon, Department of Homeland Security, and the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education will get a new deadline of March 22. The White House said the president would back the bill. HUNTER SPEAKS: The president’s son, HUNTER BIDEN, delivered a blistering rebuke of the GOP investigation into his father while testifying Wednesday before House investigators, our JORDAIN CARNEY reports. Hunter Biden met with members of the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees as part of the Republicans’ impeachment inquiry into the president. “For more than a year, your Committee have hunted me in your partisan political pursuit of my dad,” Hunter Biden said in his opening statement. "You do not have evidence to support the baseless and MAGA-motivated conspiracies about my father because there isn’t any." WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: Speaking of Hunter, ELLIE QUINLAN HOUGHTALING writes for the New Republic about how even “Fox & Friends” host STEVE DOOCY is growing wary of House Republican claims that the president had any involvement with his son’s business dealings. (Maybe it’s just a dad thing. cc: PETER.) “A lot of Republican lawmakers say they have seen zero evidence of high crimes and misdemeanors,” Doocy said. “Republicans have yet to produce any direct evidence of misconduct by Joe Biden.” Co-anchor BRIAN KILMEADE interjected, which followed with some sparring between the two. Communications director BEN LABOLT reposted the story on X. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: This op-ed by NYT’s TOM FRIEDMAN, who argues that Israel’s standing across the world is eroding — and America’s may plummet as well, if Biden isn’t careful. Friedman writes that neither Israelis nor the Biden administration “fully appreciate the rage bubbling up around the world, fueled by social media and TV footage” of thousands of Palestinians dying. He warns that Israel’s Prime Minister BENJAMIN NETANYAHU will “not hesitate to take Biden down with him.” ACCESS DENIED: When network reporters and crews showed up for their early morning live shots Wednesday, they encountered a problem: none of their “hard passes” worked when they tried to enter the north gate of the White House complex. Turns out, all gray badges — the passes used by regular press members — were deactivated. At the time, the office in EEOB that handles hard passes was closed. A supplemental pool, summoned to the White House at 6:45 a.m. to get in position at Walter Reed, couldn’t get through the gate, nor could several network correspondents arriving for their early morning hits. According to two people familiar with the situation, press assistant ALLYSON BAYLESS manually entered the personal information of everyone locked out into the WAVES computer system, allowing people to get in. By afternoon, the hard passes still didn’t work, but Secret Service agents manning the entrance booth were allowing badge-holders in once they passed through metal detectors. A sign posted to the door of the press office suggested that, eventually, the situation would be resolved: “All Hard Passes WIll Be Automatically Renewed Today. No Further Action Is Needed On Your End.” CAMPAIGN HQ FLOTUS GETS A ROLE: The Biden campaign on Wednesday announced the launch of “Women for Biden-Harris,” a program to organize and mobilize female voters. First lady JILL BIDEN will lead the effort, AP’s DARLENE SUPERVILLE reports. The first lady will kick things off this weekend with visits to Georgia, Arizona, Nevada and Wisconsin. A WORRY SIGN FOR DEMS, WHO NEVER WORRY: Biden on Tuesday night handedly won the Michigan primary, garnering over 80 percent of the vote and setting up an all-but-set rematch with former President Donald Trump. But the 100,000 voters who cast protest ballots for “uncommitted” — over the president’s Israel policy — raise the prospect of real consequences this fall. LAYLA ELABED, the “Listen to Michigan” campaign manager who spearheaded the uncommitted effort, promised protests at the DNC convention: “Our delegation plans to hold the Democratic nominee accountable to our community’s anti-war agenda at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago,” she said in a memo. “See you there.” THE BUREAUCRATS PERSONNEL MOVES: BOB HOBERT is now deputy chief of staff in the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy. He previously served as associate director of presidential advance in the Office of Scheduling and Advance. Agenda Setting BREAKING OUT THE PEN: Biden signed an executive order on Wednesday aimed at further protecting Americans’ personal data from foreign adversaries like China and Russia, AP’s WILL WEISSERT and BARBARA ORTUTAY report. The order gives the attorney general authority to prevent the large-scale transfer of people’s data to “countries of concern” and implements safeguards around other activity that could potentially give these nations access to the data. GET IT TOGETHER, BOEING: The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday said that it gave Boeing 90 days to provide the agency with a “comprehensive action plan” to handle quality-control issues, NYT’s MARK WALKER reports. The move comes as Boeing faces increasing scrutiny for a flawed safety culture and after a panel came off of one of its 737 Max 9 jets mid-flight last month. “Boeing must commit to real and profound improvements,” F.A.A. commissioner MIKE WHITAKER said in a statement. What We're Reading GAO: Billions wasted on federal health insurance program (POLITICO’s Kelly Hooper) Whiplash and relief: How Biden chief of staff Jeff Zients has changed the West Wing (Axois’ Alex Thompson and Hans Nichols) POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER RONALD REAGAN. His first inauguration in 1981 was the warmest January inauguration in history at 55 degrees. In 1985, the temperature was 7 degrees, so cold the swearing-in ceremony was moved indoors to the Capitol Rotunda. 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 Eun Kyung Kim and Sam Stein.   YOUR GUIDE TO EMPIRE STATE POLITICS: From the newsroom that doesn’t sleep, POLITICO's New York Playbook is the ultimate guide for power players navigating the intricate landscape of Empire State politics. Stay ahead of the curve with the latest and most important stories from Albany, New York City and around the state, with in-depth, original reporting to stay ahead of policy trends and political developments. Subscribe now to keep up with the daily hustle and bustle of NY politics.        Follow us on Twitter Eli Stokols @EliStokols Lauren Egan @Lauren_V_Egan Ben Johansen @BenJohansen3   Follow us

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