| | | | |  | | By Eli Stokols, Jennifer Haberkorn, Adam Cancryn, 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 After a contentious meeting Tuesday with President JOE BIDEN and congressional leaders that left him all alone in refusing to advance defense aid for Ukraine, Speaker MIKE JOHNSON explained his stance in simple, Trumpian terms: “We must take care of America's needs first.” The eyerolls among Democrats probably prompted last night’s wind storm in D.C. Johnson was the one who refused to accept a bipartisan border compromise from the Senate. Beyond that, there is a pile of Pentagon data showing more than half of the money appropriated for Ukraine aid has been spent in America. That latter point is one the administration has been making since the fall, when Republicans privately urged national security adviser JAKE SULLIVAN to rev up the pressure campaign on GOP foot-draggers. And it’s been a bigger focus in recent days, a point of emphasis for Sullivan during a press call last week and for communications adviser JOHN KIRBY during Tuesday’s White House briefing. “We have to be very intentional, very consistent and explain to folks why it's in our self interest. This isn’t charity,” Rep. JASON CROW (D-Colo.), who sits on the House Foreign Affairs and Intelligence Committees, told West Wing Playbook. “Although fighting for freedom and democracy is always a worthy cause, we have very specific self interests and national security interests at play here.” Nearly two-thirds of the $60 billion allocated for Ukraine in the defense supplemental that cleared the Senate would be spent in America. That’s another $38.8 billion that would be invested in what’s known as the “DIB,” or defense industrial base. Of that, $20 billion would be allocated for purchasing new weapons and equipment to refill U.S. inventories depleted by the effort to arm Ukraine. The remaining $13.8 billion would be spent on new weapons made by U.S. defense contractors that would be sent straight to Ukraine. Democrats hyping the idea of sending billions more to defense contractors is not your typical D.C. experience. But the more concerted focus on this aspect of Ukraine aid is being done, in large part, to respond to Republican claims that the aid package amounts to a “giveaway” to politicians in Kyiv. Not that it appears to be moving those lawmakers much. Asked this week about the White House's contention that GOP' opposition to the Ukraine package was depriving their own states of investment, Sen. RICK SCOTT (R-Fla.) called the assertion "not true" but declined to address questions about the economics of the bill. Six states have received more than $1 billion in investments from the Ukraine supplemental, according to DOD. Florida is one of them. According to data the Pentagon declassified last month, two swing states have seen the biggest DIB investments. In Arizona, Ukraine funding has meant $1.8 billion in government spending, the most of any state. That includes more than $1.1 billion with Raytheon for the production of Javelin missiles and Excalibur 155mm artillery. DOD has also spent $1.6 billion in Pennsylvania, including more than $1 billion with BAE Systems for the production of Bradley Fighting Vehicles and Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicles (AMPV).
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| The traditionally right-leaning American Enterprise Institute has also worked to draw attention to how Ukraine aid is revitalizing manufacturing communities. According to data compiled by AEI, Ukraine funding has been a boon for General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products, which makes Abrams tanks and Stryker armored personnel carriers that have been sent to Ukraine. The company is located in Lima, Ohio, the district of Rep. JIM JORDAN, a close Trump ally who has voted against Ukraine aid. But highlighting the defense spending at the core of Ukraine aid has had little effect on a party that, for decades, was defined by its hawkishness and, under Trump, its advocacy for revitalizing domestic manufacturing. Sen. J.D. VANCE (R-Ohio), a prominent skeptic of Ukraine funding, dismissed the focus on domestic investment as a "weird two-step.” He said he’d support pouring more money into the defense industry — just not for the purpose of continuing aid to Ukraine. Crow, a former Army Ranger, appeared to be coming to terms with the fact that this argument would not persuade GOP skeptics. Maybe, he reasoned, no argument would. “It hasn't resonated with some folks on the far right,” Crow said, “because they simply are only listening to what Donald Trump is telling them. Period.” MESSAGE US — Are you BETSY LAWRENCE, deputy assistant to the president for immigration? 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. | | | | | | | | | Whose was the first presidential library to open? (Hint: It is also the only one used by a sitting president.) (Answer at bottom.)
| | A TALE OF TWO (BORDER) CITIES: President Biden met today with Border Patrol agents, law enforcement and local leaders in the southern border town of Brownsville, Texas, just as DONALD TRUMP was 300 miles away in Eagle Pass, our MYAH WARD, Eli and LISA KASHINSKY report. The dueling visits provided a preview of what will be a dominating issue in the 2024 race — immigration. It comes as the White House looks to shift blame to Trump and Republicans for urging GOP members to kill the bipartisan border deal earlier this month. During the visit, the president urged the Senate to reconsider the bill and Speaker Mike Johnson to put the legislation on the House floor. “It’s time for the speaker and some of my Republican friends in Congress who are blocking this bill to show some spine,” Biden said MAYBE A BROWNIE WILL DO THE TRICK: Although he said he remains “hopeful,” the president backtracked on his assessment — delivered while eating an ice cream cone — that a temporary pause in military action in Gaza could come by Monday, our MATT BERG reports. “Hope springs eternal,” Biden said on Thursday before departing for Texas. “I was on the telephone with the people in the region. Probably not by Monday but I’m hopeful.” Biden’s comments came after reports emerged of another gruesome chapter in this war: an attack that Palestinian authorities said had killed over 100 Palestinians on Thursday as food trucks attempted to deliver humanitarian aid in Gaza. A ceasefire will become more complicated and it seems all but certain that Biden will deliver his State of the Union address without a breakthrough to tout. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: This poll from Navigator Research, which found that two in three Americans support the bipartisan immigration deal reached in the Senate. That same percent felt that the congressional Republican approach to immigration has “not focused on providing solutions to priorities that matter and that they are trying to score political points” and that Republicans were “hurting the economy” by voting against the deal. Communications director BEN LABOLT, deputy press secretary ANDREW BATES and campaign director of rapid response AMMAR MOUSSA shared the poll on X. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: This piece by NBC’s ALEX SEITZ-WALD about how the biggest labor union in the state of Washington — the United Food and Commercial Workers — endorsed voting “uncommitted” in Washington’s primary next month. The chapter, which has over 50,000 members, is the largest in the nation and has described Biden as “an ally to workers over the last four years.” But members have questioned his ability to defeat Donald Trump this November. VEEP’S ON THE MOVE: Vice President KAMALA HARRIS will head to Madison, Wisconsin, next week to tout the administration’s efforts to promote union job growth and apprenticeship programs, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s LAWRENCE ANDREA reports. Harris will be joined by acting Labor Secretary JULIE SU.
| | CASH DASH: Commerce Secretary GINA RAIMONDO will headline a Biden campaign fundraiser next Monday in New York City, our DANIEL LIPPMAN has learned. Ticket prices range from $2,500 to simply attend, $6,600 to attend as a “friend,” and $25,000 to be added as a host. SAY CHEESE! The Biden campaign is beefing up its Wisconsin staff, adding three new hires in the state, WisPolitics reports. BETHANY SORENSON, who will serve as chief operating officer, most recently worked for the Wisconsin Democratic party as coordinated operations director. — SHIRLEY ELLIS will serve as a senior adviser to the campaign’s Wisconsin team. Ellis previously worked for Rep. GWEN MOORE (D-Wis) for nearly three decades. — BRIANNA JOHNSON will be the campaign’s communications director for Wisconsin, having worked in a similar capacity for Kansas Gov. LAURA KELLY since 2021. MORE 2024 MOVES: ProgressNow, an outside digital organizing and messaging group supporting the Biden reelection, has hired MICHAEL MCGOVERN as senior director of messaging and research and MAYA CASTILLO as managing director.
| | | FIRST IN WEST WING PLAYBOOK: MAGGIE GOODLANDER has joined the office of the chief of staff, where she will help coordinate Biden’s Unity Agenda and will report directly to deputy chief of staff BRUCE REED, our JOSH SISCO has learned. Goodlander had worked until last week in the Justice Department, where she served as the deputy assistant attorney general for policy and appellate work at the antitrust division. Before that, Goodlander was an aide to Attorney General MERRICK GARLAND and has a background in national security and administrative law. — YVANNA CANCELA is leaving the White House, where she has been special assistant to the president and senior adviser to the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, Lippman has learned. Tomorrow is her last day, and she is joining the Biden campaign. MARTY’S GOT MAIL: The president on Thursday tapped MARTY WALSH, his former Labor secretary, as his nominee for United States Postal Service governor. Walsh, former mayor of Boston, pledged in a statement to make sure that the country’s mail ran on Dunkin. MORE NOMINEE MOVES: Biden also made three nominations to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, our NICO PORTUONDO reports for Pro subscribers. The nominees are Democrats JUDY CHANG and DAVID ROSNER, as well as Republican LINDSAY SEE. If confirmed, the trio would round out the five-person commission which has long remained depleted.
| | (TOO) SMART CARS: Pointing to national security risks, the Biden administration announced on Thursday that it will investigate Chinese-made smart cars that can gather personal information about the Americans driving them, AP’s MATTHEW DALY reports. The investigation may lead to regulations on these vehicles, which Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo described as “smart phones on wheels.” “China is determined to dominate the future of the auto market, including by using unfair practices,’' the president said in a statement. “China’s policies could flood our market with its vehicles, posing risks to our national security. I’m not going to let that happen on my watch.” FIX THEM HOUSES: The Biden administration announced new steps it will take to bolster federal programs aimed at producing affordable housing, as well as boosting the supply of manufactured homes, the White House said in a statement Thursday. The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced $225 million in funding for grants aimed at replacing dilapidated homes and assisting homeowners with repairs. RIDE LOCAL: On Thursday, the Department of Transportation announced over $9.8 billion in funding for public transit agencies, Bloomberg’s SKYLAR WOODHOUSE reports. The investments will help people travel faster and at more budget-friendly rates. Funding will go toward assisting communities to maintain and operate trains, buses and ferries, as well as to upgrade transit stations. CIRCLING BACK: Rep. DAN GOLDMAN (D-N.Y.), along with 25 other members of Congress, sent a letter to Biden on Thursday asking for an update on his National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism, which the president created shortly after taking office in an effort to focus counterterrorism efforts on domestic threats and not just foreign ones. The letter also asks the White House to create a senior-level director for domestic terrorism at the National Security Council.
| | Michigan primary leaves Dems begging Biden to set foot in the swing state (POLITICO’s Elena Schneider and Adam Cancryn) Biden Amasses Cash Stockpile as Trump Bleeds Money in 2024 Fight (Bloomberg’s Bill Allison) The U.S. Economy Is Surpassing Expectations. Immigration Is One Reason (NYT’s Lydia DePillis)
| | | Attorney General Merrick Garland’s mild-mannered nature may not give you the impression he could be of the MARLON BRANDO stature on stage (OK, a Brando comp might be a tad, errr, dramatic.) But for those who grew up with the AG, that’s how they remember him. As a student in the suburbs of Chicago in the 1960s, Garland starred in productions of the Biblical story of Job, as well as in the musical, “Hair.” Of his performance as J.B. in the "Book of Job,” a classmate said, “He [Garland] played it so well… He was just amazing in it.” “I think he got the lead in every play he tried out for,” she added. “He has a passion that’s low-key and may not show up in TV appearances, but it’s there.” This is correct: it does not show up on TV.
| | The FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park, New York, is America’s first presidential library. It’s also the only one used by a sitting president, since FDR would work in his library’s study each time he visited during his third and fourth terms. 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.
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