| | | | |  | | By Eli Stokols, Lauren Egan and Ben Johansen | | Presented by |  | | | 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 GENE SPERLING has earned a reputation in Washington as an economic policy wonk with a commitment to public service. But inside the White House, the 65 year-old senior adviser to President JOE BIDEN has come to be known for something else entirely: his dance moves. At the off-campus staff party that White House chief of staff JEFF ZIENTS hosted earlier this year, Sperling dominated the dance floor. So much so that young staffers couldn’t stop talking about it, some even taking videos on their phones as Sperling, shirtsleeves rolled up, bounced and grooved for two hours straight to hip-hop spun by DJ NICE, surrounded by a group of younger, mostly female staffers. “Gene gets down with such enthusiasm, a video would not do it justice — it has to be seen in person to be believed,” said one Biden administration official. A few days after the party, Zients opened a weekly White House staff meeting by ribbing Sperling about the Detroit Lions’ loss in the NFC championship game. He then played a 15-second clip of Sperling’s moves to show he’d probably be in high spirits again before long, according to people familiar with the meeting. Other aides — and some members of the press corps — said that they couldn’t keep up with Sperling during last year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner week as he bounced around from party to party into the wee hours of the morning. “He out-parties everyone,” said a second Biden administration official. Sperling reluctantly agreed to discuss his enthusiasm for parties and other social pursuits with West Wing Playbook. He said that he and a friend decided back in high school that, when it came to parties and dances, the move was to shed any awkward nerves and let it rip. And that’s what he’s been doing ever since. When Zients went to the trouble to organize a big party, he continued, “my view was just: be all in. If somebody’s making a special effort to bring us all together, don’t be self-conscious or too cool for school — just get out there.” He went on: “I got lots of excellent coaching from very patient younger White House staffers during the group dances. It was just so great to connect personally with so much of the amazing younger White House team. And I will proudly say I never left the dance floor even if I did have to prop myself up for a couple of standing water breaks.” Who coached Sperling was not precisely clear. Regardless of the dance guru he consults, Sperling’s energy level is a well known personality trait throughout the West Wing. Younger staffers share stories about his willingness to engage with them in the hallways or meet to offer career advice. Countless reporters around town can affirm that it’s often easier to get him on the phone than to get him off of it. [A word of advice to whoever is hosting Sperling at the dinner: caffeine.] Of course, Sperling is hardly alone among the strivers and workaholics that populate every West Wing. What sets him apart in a town of image-conscious climbers is that he actually dances like no one's watching. His history of dance floor domination dates back a decade. Late on the night of President BARACK OBAMA’s second inauguration, after the official balls had concluded, a select group of aides, family members and special guests gathered for an after-party inside the White House. After midnight, Obama himself signaled to attendees that it was time for a dance party and that cell phones had to be put away. ALICIA KEYS, at one point, took a microphone and sang from the dance floor. JANELLE MONÁE was in the middle of the scrum. And then, when the hundred or so dancers formed a circle, USHER grabbed Sperling and pulled him into the middle. For the better part of a minute, it was Usher and Sperling in a dance-off. Obama, hysterical, shouted out “that’s my economic adviser!” Asked to confirm this account, Sperling was quick to note that Obama’s teasing, which he said lasted for weeks, “was very good natured but not necessarily admiring of my dance skills.” But, he added, Usher “grabbed me by my shoulder later at the party and said ‘you did good!’ — so I’ll take that.” Yeah-yeah-yeaaaah, Gene. Yeah, yeah, yeah. [LIL JON voice] Let's go! MESSAGE US — Are you USHER? 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!
| | | | THE GOLD STANDARD OF POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. Throughout the election and the legislative and regulatory pushes that will follow, POLITICO Pro is indispensable to those who need to make informed decisions fast. The Pro platform dives deeper into critical and quickly evolving sectors and industries—finance, defense, technology, healthcare, energy—equipping policymakers and those who shape legislation and regulation with essential news and intelligence from the world’s best politics and policy journalists.
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| HELP US LOOK AT OUR GREEN THUMB! Introducing: the West Wing Playbook plant. In the next few weeks, we will attempt to revive this decrepit plant, which we received in an office building giveaway, keeping our readers updated throughout the struggle. Any tips would be much appreciated.
| | DEBATE ME, BRO: President Biden said in an interview on Friday with radio host HOWARD STERN that he planned to debate former President DONALD TRUMP this election cycle, but did not know when or where it would happen. “I am happy to debate him,” Biden said. That was about the only bit of major-ish news in the hour-long radio interview, which comes as the president has been criticized by the mainstream press corps for not doing more traditional sit-down interviews with outlets like the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal (and, of course, West Wing Playbook). The Biden team has largely shrugged off these complaints and has stuck to friendlier interviews, such as podcasts, where the conversation often centers around Biden’s biography. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: Probably the transcript of the Stern interview. Other than that? How about another dog-related scandal? This one, even darker than when MITT ROMNEY tied his hound SEAMUS’s crate to the roof of his car for a road-trip. KRISTI NOEM, the governor of South Dakota and strong contender to be Donald Trump’s running mate, wrote in a new book that she killed one of her own dogs. We won’t go into details, but it involved her 14-month old dog, Cricket. “I hated that dog… It had to be done,” Noem writes in the book, describing Cricket as “untrainable.” After not being able to get Cricket under control — by using an electric shock collar — she, well, executed the dog. Noem even added that when her daughter came home from school, she “looked around confused,” asking, “Hey, where’s Cricket?” Biden campaign director of rapid response AMMAR MOUSSA and spokesperson JAMES SINGER shared the grim story on X. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: This piece by Bloomberg’s AUGUSTA SARAIVA, who reports that U.S. consumer sentiment fell in April for the third month in a row, as inflation remains stubbornly high. The University of Michigan’s final April index fell to 77.2 this month, down from March’s 79.4 and below many economists' expectations. About 38 percent of consumers reported that higher prices were impacting their living situation — up from 33 percent who said so last month. CATCH YA NEXT TIME: Turkish President TAYYIP ERDOĞAN on Friday postponed a White House meeting with President Biden, which had been scheduled for May 9, according to Reuters. A U.S. official noted that the visit was never officially announced, but the meeting would have been the first bilateral visit in Washington since 2019 when Erdoğan met with Trump. A Turkish official told Reuters that a new date will be set soon.
| | A message from Chime: Tired of overdraft fees? Learn how Chime is different.
Chime is expanding banking with no overdraft fees to everyday people. Cost is a barrier to many, which is why Chime never charges overdraft or monthly fees — and there are no minimum balance requirements for our checking and savings accounts. We reach customers traditional banks don't, can't or won't and are helping everyone unlock financial progress. Learn more. | | | | | SHOULD HAVE HAD MEL KIPER NARRATE IT: Before the NFL Draft kicked off Thursday night, the Biden campaign launched a new digital ad, painting President Biden as a diehard football fan, and Trump as a threat to America’s favorite sport. “Make the right pick in November,” the ad ends after showing clips of Trump calling football “boring as hell” and that “nobody cares” about it. Digital ads are meant to go viral, and don’t often move the needle. Now, if Biden can make sense of the Falcons taking MICHAEL PENIX JR. so early, then he might get some real traction in Georgia. EVERYONE WANTS RAHM: During a low in Biden’s polling numbers this winter, top Democratic donors wanted a shake up in the campaign team. Their proposal: bring back RAHM EMANUEL from his ambassadorship in Japan to head up the campaign. Semafor’s LIZ HOFFMAN, MORGAN CHALFANT and BEN SMITH report that donors felt like the famously… assertive… Emanuel could energize what they saw as “an isolated and somnolent Biden inner circle that seemed to be hiding the president from public view.” Emanuel shot down the effort as “not real,” in a text to Semafor. Campaign spokesperson TJ DUCKLO, when asked about it, said: “We don’t comment on fan fiction.” I mean, c’mon, how could he leave his swanky library??
| | OUTTA HERE: The Education Department's top student loan official RICH CORDRAY is set to leave the Biden administration next week, our MICHAEL STRATFORD reports. Cordray, the former head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, has been overseeing the department’s Office of Federal Student Aid since May 2021. The announcement comes as Cordray’s office has been riddled with criticism over its rollout of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid released last year.
| | | | A message from Chime:   | | | | | XI WARNED: Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN wrapped up his three days of meetings in China on Friday by issuing Beijing a stark warning — stop exporting materials to Russia that help build up their industrial base or face U.S. sanctions, our PHELIM KINE reports. Chinese firms are providing key components for Russia’s industrial base, which has “a material effect against Ukraine,” Blinken told reporters on Friday. In his meetings with Chinese President XI JINPING and Foreign Minister WANG YI, Blinken made it clear that the U.S. is running out of patience with China for its support of Russia’s war offensive. BIG WIN FOR REV AL: The Biden administration is delaying its plan to ban menthol cigarettes, a move that likely kills any chance the rule is finalized before November, our ADAM CANCRYN and DAVID LIM report. The Biden administration began pursuing the ban in 2021, arguing it would increase the success rate of smokers trying to quit and address health disparities among people of color — who are predominantly menthol smokers. The Food and Drug Administration had been expected to adopt the rule, but after hearing from some Black community leaders — among them AL SHARPTON — about the political risk it could pose, the White House decided against it. “It’s clear that there are still more conversations to have, and that will take significantly more time,” Health and Human Services Secretary XAVIER BECERRA said in a statement. NOT RUSHING INTO IT: The State Department is planning to put off imposing sanctions on the Israel Defense Forces “Netzah Yehuda” battalion for human rights violations in the occupied West Bank, Axios’ BARAK RAVID reports. The department is reviewing the issue in light of new information brought to light by Israel in recent days. (NOT) MADE IN AMERICA: Upscale retail store Williams-Sonoma will have to pay a record $3.175 million for violating a 2020 Federal Trade Commission order. In a complaint filed by the Department of Justice, the agency asserts that Williams-Sonoma labeled multiple products as “Made in the USA” when in fact they were made in China and other countries. The real question looms. Will they pay it in the form of Shun cutlery and peppermint bark? Maybe some Le Creuset pots? LINA KHAN, your call.
| | When U.S. Diplomats Visit China, Meal Choices Are About More Than Taste Buds (NYT’s Yan Zhuang) Secret meetings, social chatter: How Columbia students sparked a nationwide revolt (WaPo’s Tim Craig, Hannah Natanson and Richard Morgan) Inside the failed White House coup to oust Biden press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre (NY Post’s Steven Nelson)
| | A message from Chime: Chime is expanding banking with no overdraft fees to everyday people. Cost is a barrier to many, which is why Chime never charges overdraft or monthly fees — and there are no minimum balance requirements for our checking and savings accounts. We reach customers traditional banks don't, can't or won't and are helping everyone unlock financial progress. Learn more. | | | | | Eleven! From FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT to BILL CLINTON, Hope became an institutional staple in Washington, knowing them “about as intimately as a man can without being either a fellow politician or related,” Hope put it. “I’ve golfed with them, dined with them, told jokes with them. I’ve even had them steal my material. Laughter is nonpartisan — a great leveler. And maybe that’s the one thing all eleven presidents have in common. As long as it’s funny, you can say almost anything to them and get away with it,” he said in 1996. Hope learned that presidents are the best audience a comedian can have. “They love it when you bruise them a little, because nobody does.” 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 and Emily Cadei.
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