| | | | |  | | By Eli Stokols, 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 When we wrote last fall about TOM PEREZ and his broad portfolio, he was spending the bulk of his time trying to help New York handle an influx of migrants — and using his connections in organized labor to help the White House resolve the strike by Detroit’s biggest automakers. As the director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, Perez serves as President JOE BIDEN’s top liaison to governors and mayors nationwide. He’s a “utility infielder,” to borrow a term appropriate for the dawn of baseball season. So it’s not a surprise that Perez now finds himself overseeing the administration’s response to the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge. He’s been convening meetings with local officials, coordinating with agencies and traveling to the site to meet with relatives of the six people who were killed. He spoke about it all with West Wing Playbook Friday. This conversation has been edited for clarity. So you wake up Tuesday and see this. What happens at the White House? Everybody was up and running. Fortunately or unfortunately, we’ve had a lot of experience dealing with incidents. So everybody understands that time is of the essence. We were on the phone that morning with Governor [Wes] Moore and the two senators, our federal people … and the president is extremely engaged with these things. How so? He is no stranger to tragedy, and he wants to make sure that when people lose a loved one, they know from the highest levels that we’re going to stay engaged. When he says, ‘We’re going to move heaven and earth’ — we’ve now got the largest apparatus on the East Coast, a heavy lift crane, which is basically a crane moored out of a barge, there to do the work. Everyone wants this to be fixed quickly, but it’s a massive project. Realistically, what should people expect? In a few days, there will be upwards of a dozen vessels there to help with the cleanup. We have to be mindful that we still have to recover four bodies, so we can’t lose sight of the humanity of that process. At the same time, we have to multitask. The Labor Department can help displaced workers. I’m about to get on a call with Governor Moore and Maryland business leaders to exhort them to keep their employees because we’re going to do this as fast as we can. We don't want to mislead people. This is a tough undertaking. But we’re going to be able to do this. It’s just going to take some time and some collaboration. A Republican congressman this week questioned why federal dollars would be spent on this repair. Are you at all concerned that the money gets held up by a dysfunctional House? I have a lot of confidence, and the president has a lot of confidence, that Congress will appropriate necessarily. I'm confident people understand that Maryland's port is a national resource. It's not just the Maryland port. Will it be unanimous in the House? I don’t know. But will it be a strong bipartisan majority? I’m confident [it will be]. Of all your meetings this week, the one on Wednesday when you went to the command center in Baltimore and met with the victims’ families, had to be the hardest. What did they convey to you? All the conversations were in Spanish. And it was just: the “cuerpo,” the “cuerpo” — the body. It was hard to talk about anything else because they didn’t have any clarity other than that they knew their loved one was not coming back alive. I was just trying to give them some comfort that we have everyone possible out there. And many have relatives overseas and they wanted to see if we could help facilitate their entry into the U.S. [to attend funerals]. We all got on the phone with DHS folks. There’s a thing called humanitarian parole where you can get people in for a limited period of time for a circumstance like this. These folks were all from the Dominican Republic. Like your family. This is home for me. I’ve spent the majority of my career working to empower immigrant communities. The most fundamental right a worker has is to come home. When I hear all the immigrant bashing that takes place by some in America, I think: I wish you had a conversation with these families. They’re here, they’re working hard. At 1 a.m. you know what they’re trying to do? They’re trying to make everyone else’s commute a little easier by repairing potholes and they made the ultimate sacrifice for that. Our immigrant communities have been the lifeblood of our country from the founding of our republic. When I see them and they’re suffering , it just pains me. But it inspires me to make sure we never forget them. MESSAGE US — Are you PEYTON SCHWARTZ, director for arrangements? 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. | | | | | | | | | Which president created the first flower garden on the grounds of the White House? (Answer at bottom.)
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Former Presidents Barack Obama (left) and Bill Clinton (right) cheer for President Joe Biden during a campaign fundraising event at Radio City Music Hall in New York Citym on March 28, 2024. | Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images | | | | | PAYING A VISIT TO CHARM CITY: President Biden told reporters traveling with him Friday that he would visit Baltimore “next week” with Gov. WES MOORE in the wake of the bridge collapse. Biden, who the White House said has been closely monitoring the situation throughout the week, told reporters the day after the collapse that he wanted to visit as quickly as he could. A YEAR TAKEN: On the anniversary of Wall Street Journal reporter EVAN GERSHKOVICH’s wrongful detention in Russia, President Biden said the U.S. is continuing to work every day to secure his release. “Journalism is not a crime, and Evan went to Russia to do his job as a reporter … As I have told Evan’s parents, I will never give up hope either,” the president wrote in a statement. Biden called Gershkovich’s detainment “wholly unjust and illegal.” The Journal’s front page was blank on Friday, a stark reminder of Gershkovich’s missing journalism. WSJ publisher ALMAR LATOUR in an interview with POLITICO said “until he’s out, not enough has been done by anyone, and that goes for all of us.” IT’S GOOD TO BE THE KING: If you wanted to see three Democratic presidents together on the Radio City stage Thursday night, you just had to write a check to Biden’s campaign. If you were a member of the press, however, it was a tougher ticket. As is usually the case with Biden’s campaign fundraisers, part of the traveling White House pool was allowed in — reporters and photographers — while the TV camera crew was barred. As is also typical, a few additional invites went to representatives of local outlets: NY Mag’s SHAWN MCCREESH, the NY Post’s Page Six writer OLIVER COLEMAN and correspondents from Vogue (editor in chief ANNA WINTOUR was a co-sponsor), People and BET. NBC White House reporter MIKE MEMOLI is not based in New York, and some reporters on scene took note that the Biden campaign granted him access to the event, too. When you’re the president’s favorite reporter (sorry, EVAN OSNOS), exceptions apparently can be made. In total, 21 journalists were allowed into the event. White House Correspondents’ Association president KELLY O’DONNELL told West Wing Playbook that the organization had “pressed for access by our full White House pool, including a network television camera, because we believe the rare gathering of three presidents is not only newsworthy but historically significant.” The campaign blasted out photos and videos from the event to its press email list, but O’Donnell said that’s no substitute for allowing “professional journalists” to cover the event in person. Biden campaign spokesperson LAUREN HITT framed the complaints about access in the broader context of the campaign. "Donald Trump routinely threatened violence against the media and tried to dismantle our First Amendment along with the rest of our constitution — and has said he'll go further if given the chance,” she said. “That is actually what's at stake here, not just for press access but for our entire country." WAY TOO SOON: At the fundraiser event, Biden also appeared to make a joke about his German shepherd COMMANDER’s taste for U.S. Secret Service agents. “Harry Truman said if you want a friend in Washington, get a dog. I got one, and it bit a Secret Service agent,” Biden said according to reporters in the room. That’s a bit of an underestimation. Commander bit people who worked in the White House on at least 24 occasions, according to Secret Service emails. And although the Bidens eventually sent him to the farm upstate with a lot of outdoor space to run around and be free live outside the White House, it’s probably not something the president should make light of. As our MICHAEL SCHAFFER argued in a column last year, the situation “represents some awfully insensitive behavior by the first family.” WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: This piece by LA Times’ BENJAMIN ORESKES, who reports that on Friday, the two sons of CESAR CHAVEZ endorsed President Biden. It comes as independent candidate ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. has used the late labor leader’s name and image in his campaign and as he plans to spend time in Los Angeles this weekend commemorating Cesar Chavez Day. FERNANDO and PAUL CHAVEZ said that if their father was still alive, he too would endorse Biden. “I don’t think my grandfather would stand by anybody who would be spreading this misinformation — knowing that farmworkers and Latinos were among the most impacted,” Chavez’s grandson said of Kennedy’s anti-vaccine stances. DNC spokesperson MATT CORRIDONI shared the story, which campaign director of rapid response AMMAR MOUSSA reposted. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: This JONATHAN MARTIN column about the lack of personal outreach by Biden to “Never Trump” Republicans like Sen. MITT ROMNEY, former Vice President MIKE PENCE, former New Jersey Gov. CHRIS CHRISTIE and Alaska Sen. LISA MURKOWSKI. All of them have vowed not to vote for former President DONALD TRUMP. But none of them have gotten calls from Biden, never mind invitations to the White House or Camp David, JMart reports. “It’s especially surprising,” Maine Sen. SUSAN COLLINS said, “because President Biden does understand the Senate, he has personal relationships with some of us.”
| | A PRICY PROTEST: During Biden’s extravagant fundraising event with former presidents BARACK OBAMA and BILL CLINTON last night, pro-Palestinian protesters interrupted the event, our ELENA SCHNEIDER and JEFF COLTIN report. The disruptions — including shouts of “blood on your hands” — demonstrate the serious electoral challenge the president still faces. “You can’t just talk and not listen. That’s what the other side does,” Obama said from the stage. Both Obama and Clinton used the moment to push for Biden's re-election, arguing that he is pushing for an end to the war and has the moral clarity to lead during the conflict. APPARENTLY TAKING THE JMART COLUMN TO HEART: The Biden campaign released a new digital ad on Friday with a direct appeal to NIKKI HALEY voters. The ad features Donald Trump belittling Haley and saying that he doesn’t need her supporters to win. “If you voted for Nikki Haley … Donald Trump does not want your vote,” the ad goes. PUTTING THAT MONEY TO USE: The Biden campaign is opening up new offices across North Carolina and Michigan, two states where the campaign is looking to prioritize this November. Axios’ ZACHERY EANES reports that the campaign will open 10 field offices across the Tar Heel State in addition to its headquarters in Raleigh. And Detroit News’ CRAIG MAUGER writes that in Michigan, Democrats are learning from their 2016 defeat in the state and “getting campaign operations going early,” according to LAVORA BARNES, chairperson of the Michigan Democratic Party. Dems will open 30 field offices across the state by mid-April in an effort to tout their ground game. GET YOUR SUNSCREEN HANDY: The Biden campaign is rolling out its Florida leadership team, tapping three Democratic operatives to lead the efforts, our GARY FINEOUT reports. JASMINE BURNEY-CLARK will serve as the state director, while PHILLIP JEREZ and JACKIE LEE will both be senior advisers.
| | | A BOSS WHO APPARENTLY LIVED UP, OR DOWN, TO HIS LAST NAME: On Friday, President Biden informed Speaker MIKE JOHNSON (R-La.) that he will be firing MARTIN DICKMAN, the longtime inspector general of the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, on grounds that he created a hostile workplace environment, The Hill’s ALEX GANGITANO reports. The investigation, which began in January 2023, found that Dickman created a toxic work environment and engaged in abusive treatment of employees, including crude and inappropriate language such as slurs. Dickman has served in the position since being confirmed in 1994 under the Clinton administration.
| | DOES BIDEN ENJOY THE HECKLERS? In recent days, the U.S. has quietly approved the transfer of billions of dollars in arms to Israel, despite significant pushback from Washington and the general public that continued military assistance risks the lives of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, WaPo’s JOHN HUDSON reports. The new package includes 1,800 MK84 2,000-pound bombs and 500 MK82 500-pound bombs, according to officials familiar with the matter. The 2,000-pound bombs have been linked to previous mass casualty events throughout Israel’s military offensive in Gaza. And, let’s just say, some folks (ahem, TOMMY VIETOR) were a bit perplexed by the move. FOLLOW THE MONEY. NO, REALLY, FOLLOW THE MONEY: The Government Accountability Office is urging the State Department to do a better job of tracking the humanitarian assistance funds the U.S. is sending to Ukraine. Released Thursday, the GAO’s review of the $44.1 billion in foreign assistance funding directed to Ukraine since Russia’s February 2022 invasion found that State “was not using a systematic approach to categorize and separately track the status of foreign assistance” and could not provide clear information about where all the money had gone. MAKING TRUCKS GREEN: In an effort to spike the sale of electric or zero-emission trucks, the Biden administration on Friday announced new emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks, buses and other large vehicles, NYT’s CORAL DAVENPORT and JACK EWING report. The new rule, the EPA says, could mean that a quarter of new long-haul trucks and 40 percent of medium-sized trucks could be nonpolluting by 2032. Currently, only 2 percent of new heavy trucks sold in the U.S. hit that standard.
| | Evan Gershkovich’s Stolen Years in a Russian Jail (WSJ’s Eliot Brown) Can This Race Car Save Joe Biden’s Presidency? (POLITICO’s David Ferris) US, Japan, Philippines plan joint South China Sea naval patrols (POLITICO’s Phelim Kine, Alexander Ward and Lara Seligman) Ladies and Gentlemen, Ian Eagle (The Ringer’s Bryan Curtis)
| | | President JOHN QUINCY ADAMS developed the first flower garden on the White House grounds in 1825, planting ornamental trees. Thanks to the White House Historical Association for this question! 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 Sam Stein.
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