Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Tina Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. With help from Allie Bice. The White House loves leaning into the notion that the JOE BIDEN presidency is a deliberate bore. Taking the drama out of politics is a good thing, they argue, if not for their own electoral prospects then for society writ large. But while Biden may be bad for web traffic (not that we care about that), his actual policy agenda has proved anything but tedious. Over the past week, the president has continued to dramatically uproot entrenched U.S. ideologies both domestically and abroad. On Thursday, Biden announced that he wasn’t just sticking to his planned withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, but expediting the timeframe. Then on Friday, the White House unveiled their latest batch of executive orders to loosen the stranglehold of concentrated markets. “Capitalism without competition isn’t capitalism,” Biden declared. “It’s exploitation.” Each of these pronouncements is seismic. The last two presidents both pledged to bring an end to the war in Afghanistan and take a stand for consumers against corporate consolidation, only to fall short on each front. Biden has not only forged ahead, he seems fine with whatever the residual impacts may be. When pressed about whether the United States would be responsible for the loss of Afghan civilian lives, he didn’t skip a beat. “No.” For those policy wonks who have been laboring away on anti-monopoly policy specifically, the early Biden administration has been a revelation. Among other moves, it backed an intellectual property waiver around the Covid-19 vaccine, strengthened regulatory protections for livestock farmers, moved swiftly to address global semiconductor shortages, and appointed LINA KHAN, a fierce critic of Big Tech, as the chair of the Federal Trade Commission. Friday’s executive actions, numbering 72 in total, brought even more notable strides in reversing the decades-long trend towards consolidated corporate power. And unlike DONALD TRUMP and his like-minded Republicans — who are directing their anti-monopoly ire squarely at Big Tech — they touched on a wide spectrum of industries. Among the biggies were a directive to the Food and Drug Administration to work with states to safely import prescription drugs from Canada; a push for the Justice Department and FTC to review and revise hospital merger guidelines; language going after noncompete agreements that bind employees; directives allowing farmers to repair their own equipment; and opening avenues for customers to be reimbursed for bad services. “This is far better than what most people expected,” BARRY LYNN, executive director of the Open Markets Institute in Washington and one of the leading anti-monopoly intellectuals, told West Wing Playbook. “I personally was very optimistic about what the Biden folks would do because I know the folks there take this stuff seriously. But even though I was optimistic, so far it’s been better than I expected.” There is a certain incongruity to Biden being at the wheel for this policy paradigm shift. A near octogenarian establishment figure whose career has been defined by moderation and proximity to big industry isn’t the logical vessel for taking on the military industrial complex and corporate interests. And yet, it’s not entirely surprising either. Biden has always been eager to get out of Afghanistan — stymied by the generals in 2009 before ultimately convincing President BARACK OBAMA to start a drawdown in 2011. He is also steering a Democratic Party that has dramatically changed in just the past five years. A generation of policy aides with fresh ideas influenced by senators like BERNIE SANDERS (I-Vt.) and ELIZABETH WARREN (D-Mass.) are now taking the reins of power and shaping the actual execution of Democratic politics. MATT STOLLER, the director of research at the American Economic Liberties Project and someone who rarely holds his punches, called it “a 180 degree change” from Obamaism. And though the administration is still young and major decisions remain (who, for example, will Biden appoint to head the antitrust division at DOJ?), that much so far seems true. Biden is achieving two things Obama used as taglines, but couldn't quite see through: He’s no drama and ushering in change. Do you work in the Biden administration? Are you in touch with the White House? Are you SALONI SHARMA? We want to hear from you — and we’ll keep you anonymous: westwingtips@politico.com. Or if you want to stay really anonymous send us a tip through SecureDrop, Signal, Telegram, or Whatsapp here. | 
