| | | | |  | | 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 and Harris campaign. Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Eli | Email Lauren This summer, the group of new wranglers tasked with shepherding the press around the White House and on presidential trips relayed to higher-ups that they were concerned about their “work-life balance.” Some expressed a desire to not take their work phones home with them, according to four people familiar with the situation. But now, with three weeks left in the campaign, the work-life balance for the remaining wranglers is — sorry, guys — about to get worse. On Tuesday, SONJA THRASHER, the wrangler who’d been assigned to handle the president’s more complicated trips, began what can officially be classified as a vacation, opting to take three weeks of paid time off to go assist the KAMALA HARRIS campaign in Pennsylvania during the final stretch, according to three administration officials granted anonymity to discuss the situation. Thrasher, the three people said, will lend a much-needed hand during campaign events in what is the most critical of all seven battleground states, where Harris and running-mate TIM WALZ, President JOE BIDEN and other top surrogates will be holding events virtually every day until Nov. 5. It’s not out of the ordinary for White House staffers to pitch in during the final weeks of a campaign, not to mention a savvy career move for anyone eager to land a job in a Harris White House should she win. And Biden himself has conveyed to advisers that he and Harris remain a team, that her victory is a top priority, and that helping her win by working on her campaign is deeply in line with his values, multiple officials said. While few in the West Wing seem to begrudge Thrasher or any other colleagues who’ve left to join the campaign, the drip of departures has left the remaining mid- and junior-level staffers, most of whom haven’t received fancy new titles in recent weeks, to pick up more of the slack. “You don’t see a lot of the work that people do — until they’re gone,” one administration official, granted anonymity to describe the current environment, told West Wing Playbook. “So everyone else has a little more to do. But people get it. They’re going where the action is, and the people taking leave will be back.” For the moment, there are only three wranglers left at the White House, the longest tenured of whom has been on the job 11 months. That said, the press team operated with just three wranglers for roughly a year and a half earlier in Biden’s term. Thrasher, one official noted, will return to the White House immediately following Election Day. Earlier this month, after Congress adjourned for the remainder of the campaign cycle, SHARON YANG followed IAN SAMS out of the White House Counsel’s communications shop and went to work for Harris as a national spokesperson for the final stretch. Another staffer has picked up her portfolio, although the season for major House Oversight investigations has passed. Because Biden has only three months left in office, it’s unlikely new people will be hired to replace those moving on permanently or taking a short leave. Staffers are allowed to use their PTO however they choose, including by volunteering or going to work briefly for the campaign. But the abrupt departures — no one is giving two weeks’ notice with only 21 days left in the campaign — has left the White House scrambling in some cases. Thrasher was going to be one of two wranglers traveling with Biden to Berlin later this week. With her taking leave, there will now be just one wrangler on the two-day trip. Overall, the administration has seen a high level of retention at the top, with the vast majority of the president’s original Cabinet and national security team still in place. Chief of staff JEFF ZIENTS, who has sought to visit executive branch agencies in person and to engage directly with staff across the White House campus, announced in an all-staff email sent just before 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon that he would hold a town hall on Thursday focused on maximizing “one more 100-day sprint.” “We’re determined to make the most of the last 100 days of this Administration,” he wrote in the email, which was shared with West Wing Playbook. “The decisions we make now will determine our fate of our nation and the world for decades to come. And no one knows this better than this team: every day matters.” However chaotic some of the shifting responsibilities have been, several of those still working in the administration are enjoying recent opportunities to take on assignments that would not have fallen to them previously — on matters impacting people across the country. “Over the past two weeks, President Biden has responded to two hurricanes, announced a plan to replace every lead pipe in America, helped resolve a port strike, and implemented policies that helped create 250,000 jobs in September,” said White House spokesperson and adviser to the press secretary ROBYN PATTERSON. With everything going on domestically and the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, there remains much to do. “I’m as busy as I’ve been in all four years,” a second White House official said. “I understand people wanting to go where the action is with the campaign, but there’s a lot of action here, too.” MESSAGE US — Are you LUCIA HORNBACHER, adviser to the deputy chief of staff? 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!
| | | | REQUEST AN INVITATION: 13TH ANNUAL MERIDIAN SUMMIT: Executives, diplomats, and policymakers are working to anticipate shifts shaping the future. The 2024 Meridian Summit highlights trends, risks, and opportunities shaping our world, empowering decision-makers like you to navigate a complex geopolitical landscape. Request an invitation here. | | | | | | | BILL CLINTON once said that the most starstruck he’s ever been was after meeting a certain professional athlete. Who was it? (Answer at bottom.)
| | JUST 21 DAYS OUT … Vice President Harris was in Detroit today for an audio town hall with CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD, the popular co-host of the “Breakfast Club,” as she continues her outreach to Black voters. Meanwhile, over at the Economic Club of Chicago, Bloomberg editor-in-chief JOHN MICKLETHWAIT pressed former President DONALD TRUMP over his economic plan, which many economists say would cost the U.S. trillions of dollars in more debt. Micklethwait also asked Trump whether he’d spoken with Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN since leaving office (as BOB WOODWARD’s reporting revealed last week). Trump neither confirmed nor denied, but said, “If I did, it’s a smart thing.” PULL THE BAND-AID OFF: A new survey from Blueprint shows that Vice President Harris could win herself some points from independents if she breaks from President Biden more. According to the survey, Harris gets a 10-percentage point gain with independents for her policy to expand Medicare to cover home health care, and she gets a 7-percentage point gain with them for her plan to crack down on corporate price-gouging. In contrast, Blueprint noted that Harris’ response to a question on ABC’s “The View” of what she’d have done differently than Biden — when she said “not a thing comes to mind” — resulted in a 26-percentage point drag on her favorability with independents. SOME DREAMERS OF THE GOLDEN DREAM … are fed-up with the congestion in Kenter Canyon, the tony Brentwood enclave where Harris lives. According to this report by LAT’s DANIEL MILLER, some of the vice president’s neighbors have had it with the security checkpoints, road closures and general delays caused by her Secret Service detail whenever she or SGOTUS are home. One woman who lives on the block noted “she’s heard neighbors suggest they would put their property up for sale if Harris defeats Donald Trump in November.” Harris, she added, has never acknowledged the impact on neighbors: “If she said, ‘Merry Christmas, sorry for the inconvenience,’ that would be nice. But, four years, not a line.” WHAT WILMINGTON WANTS YOU TO READ: This piece by the Daily Beast’s NICO HINES, who reports that Donald Trump pulled out of another mainstream TV interview, this time with the Trump-friendly CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” JOE KERNEN, the host of the conservative-leaning show, made the announcement Tuesday during an interview with CHARLES PHILLIPS, the Oracle chair who is supporting Kamala Harris, saying “Trump canceled.” Campaign director of rapid response AMMAR MOUSSA shared the news, writing: “WOW … What is going on?” WHAT WILMINGTON DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: This piece by CNN’s ANDREW KACZYNSKI , who reports that during Harris’ unsuccessful 2019 presidential campaign, she warned oil companies to be prepared to pay hefty fines and even face criminal prosecution under a future Harris administration for their role in contributing to climate change. But now, in her 2024 bid, she’s highlighting the country’s record oil and gas production. She rarely talks about climate change, Kaczynski writes, and despite having been a rigorous supporter of the Green New Deal, her campaign’s website is light on climate policy details.
| | CAN ALWAYS COUNT ON THE DAILY MAIL! To keep its eye on what matters. The London tabloid has commissioned new polling that, if we’re being honest about it, might be the White House’s favorite thing the paper has ever done (sorry, EMILY GOODIN ). According to the newspaper’s survey of likely voters in Pennsylvania, 48 percent say the Scranton-born Biden represents their state well — far better, in fact, than former Bucks County resident TAYLOR SWIFT, who just 17 percent said represents the Keystone State well. In Swift’s defense, Biden still spends half his time in Pennsylvania, while the pop star is traveling the world and showing a strong allegiance of late to Kansas City. “Harris has both Biden and Swift in her corner — but the polling suggests Biden could be a better Pennsylvania surrogate,” the Daily Mail shrewdly concludes. As luck would have it, Biden is headlining the Philadelphia Democratic Party GOTV Dinner at the Sheet Metal Workers’ Local 19 Banquet Hall on Tuesday evening. COLD BLOODED: Former House Speaker NANCY PELOSI admitted that she hasn’t spoken to President Biden since her behind-the-scenes work in July to get him out of the race, The Guardian’s CHRIS MICHAEL reports. Pelosi told The Guardian’s JONATHAN FREEDLAND that although she continues to regard the president as an ally and great friend, she felt a cold political calculation was necessary after Biden’s failing mental acuity was put on display during his June debate. “Not since then, no,” she said when asked if she had spoken to Biden since. “But I’m prayerful about it.”
| | WE’RE SO BACK: Washingtonians, rejoice. BAO LI and QING BAO — two 3-year-old giant pandas from China — made their way Tuesday to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Woodley Park, where they will remain on loan for 10 years, with an annual fee of $1 million to support conservation efforts in China. As CNN’s NECTAR GAN reports, though Bao Li was born in China’s southwestern province of Sichuan, he has deep ties to Washington. His mother, BAO BAO, was born a celebrity at the National Zoo in 2013 and returned to China four years later. His grandparents, MEI XIANG and TIAN TIAN, lived at the zoo for 23 years until their lease ended last year. “Bao Li has a huge personality. He reminds me a lot of his grandfather, Tian Tian,” said MARIEL LALLY, a panda keeper from the National Zoo who accompanied Bao Li and Qing Bao on the flight to Washington. PERSONNEL MOVES: HANA HALL has been promoted to be an adviser to the Director of Public Engagement at the White House. She most recently was a special assistant to the director. — SOPHIE HART has been promoted to be associate director of scheduling at the Office of the Vice President. She most recently was senior scheduling coordinator for the VP.
| | SBA’S CASH CRUNCH: The Biden administration announced Tuesday that the Small Business Administration has run out of money for its disaster loan program. Until Congress acts, the SBA cannot issue new low-interest loans to people impacted by disasters like Hurricanes Helene and Milton who are trying to rebuild businesses and homes. Our JENNIFER SCHOLTES and CAITLIN EMMA report that House Speaker MIKE JOHNSON has repeatedly said he does not intend to call lawmakers back from their pre-election recess before the scheduled Nov. 12 return, but they note that some “Republican lawmakers have publicly indicated they would be more open to returning if agencies said they were out of money.” Although the SBA cannot make any new loan offers without more money, it can still do some of the prep work like processing loan applications. PRETTY PLEASE? The Biden administration sent a letter to the Israeli government on Sunday, demanding it improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza within 30 days or risk violating U.S. laws governing foreign military assistance, CNN’s JEREMY DIAMOND, NATASHA BERTRAND and KYLIE ATWOOD report. The letter, co-written by Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN and Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN, is addressed to Israeli Defense Minister YOAV GALLANT and Minister of Strategic Affairs RON DERMER. They write that the U.S. has deep concerns about the situation and ask for “urgent and sustained actions by your government this month to reverse this trajectory.” LIVING UP TO THE NAME: Under President Biden, petitions for union representation doubled, marking the first increase since the 1970s, AP’s JOSH BOAK reports. There were 3,286 petitions filed with the government in fiscal 2024, up from 1,638 in 2021. This marks the first increase in unionization petitions during a presidential term since GERALD FORD’s administration ended nearly 50 years ago. During the Trump administration, union petitions declined 22 percent.
| | Trump Breaks Down Onstage (The Atlantic’s David A. Graham) Karine Jean-Pierre blocks John Kirby at the White House podium (Axios’ Alex Thompson) The rise — and fall? — of the New Progressive Economics (Vox’s Andrew Prokop) Trump Leans On Creative Bookkeeping to Keep Up in Cash Race (NYT’s Shane Goldmacher and Maggie Haberman)
| | The former president said he was most starstruck when he played two rounds with legendary golfer JACK NICKLAUS in 1993, CNN’s DAN MERICA reported in 2015. “We played this one par 5 hole,” Clinton told ESPN’s “Mike and Mike” nine years ago. “And I out drove Jack Nicklaus by a foot. He looks at me and I could tell he didn’t like it.” Nicklaus gave Clinton quite the humbling. “We were both on this par 5 hole in 2 [shots] and I was only eight feet away from an eagle,” Clinton continued. “I had never had an eagle on a par 5 hole. Ever. And I literally stubbed the putt. It was the worst putt you could have imagined. Jack Nicholas looked at me and said, ‘You didn’t think you were worthy of an eagle, did you?’ I said, ‘I guess not.’ He smiled and he said, ‘You need to get over that.’ I’ll never forget that for as long as I live.” 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 Steve Shepard and Rishika Dugyala. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
