Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Tina Never underestimate JOE BIDEN’s ability to trample on his own good news. On the day of the Senate passage of his infrastructure bill and the blockbuster news of Gov. ANDREW CUOMO ’s impending resignation, the president at first stuck to the script. He had called on the New York governor to resign last week. He respected the decision. But then, Biden gave us this: “He’s done a hell of a job.” Yes, the comment was in response to a question from CBS’ ED O’KEEFE about Cuomo’s “ten and a half years as governor of the state,” outside of his personal behavior. And yes, Biden followed it up with, “that’s why it’s so sad.” But … no, today was not the day. “Can you really say [Cuomo] has done ‘a hell of a job’ if he's accused of sexually harassing women on the job?” CNN’s KAITLAN COLLINS asked in a follow-up question. Biden replied that he was answering a substantive question about Cuomo’s track record on infrastructure. (Here’s video of the Q & A between O’Keefe and Biden). But by that point, the damage was done. A hastily-organized news conference to celebrate the Senate passage of the bipartisan infrastructure bill — a major policy victory for the president — had become overshadowed by the disgraced, soon-to-be-ex-governor. And the president seemed to know it. “I’m not going to comment any more on Andrew Cuomo,” Biden said at one point, waving his hand – a sentiment he would have been well served to have heeded minutes earlier. The slip up will almost assuredly be forgotten in time and have less of an impact than the bill Biden was celebrating (assuming it becomes law). But for those saying it was a nothing-burger, the White House’s actions suggested otherwise. Shortly after the president left the lectern, press secretary JEN PSAKI did some clean-up on Twitter. Biden “responded to a specific question today about @NYGovCuomo work on infrastructure” she wrote. In fact, Biden himself had clarified to O’Keefe that he was asking about what Cuomo “had done as a governor,” not just on infrastructure. “He also made clear it was right for @NYGovCuomo to step down, reiterated his support for women who come forward, and made clear you can’t separate personal behavior from other work,” Psaki added. The moment underscored the complexities and, ultimately, the sourness that has come to define the Cuomo-Biden relationship. As calls for Cuomo to step down grew louder in March — including by Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER (D-N.Y.) — an unofficial edict quietly circulated in the White House that staff was not to communicate with Cuomo’s team unless it was about Covid-19, the Associated Press reported. The president himself has not spoken with the New York governor since the allegations broke. The White House on Tuesday declined to answer questions about Biden’s muted communication with Cuomo in recent months. Psaki said Biden was meeting with senior staffers and preparing for his remarks on the passage of the infrastructure bill when the Cuomo resignation news broke. She declined to say whether the president has spoken to KATHY HOCHUL, the lieutenant governor who will become the first female governor of New York when Cuomo steps down in 14 days. Things were a lot peachier between the two last year. In October, Cuomo imagined a world in which Biden could ask him to lead the Justice Department. “I would say, ‘You are an old friend. You are a good friend. You’re going to win this election. You’re going to be the president. I’ll help you any way I can,’” the governor, still riding a wave of public approval for his initial response to the Covid-19 pandemic, told NBC. But he added, “I have no interest in going to Washington.” The admiration was mutual. In 2014, Biden compared Cuomo to (gulp) ABRAHAM LINCOLN: “He’s like you, pal. He had vision,” Biden told Cuomo at an event. The president isn’t just a casual ally of Cuomo’s; the two developed a bond over the years. Biden attended the wake for the patriarch of the political dynasty, MARIO CUOMO , in 2015, and Andrew Cuomo attended services for Biden’s late son, Beau, who died of brain cancer the same year. Upon Biden’s election in November, Cuomo was poised to hold the ultimate insider connection, one that would only further elevate the New York governor. Instead, Cuomo suffered a precipitous fall from grace — including some serious blemishes on his record (such as the handling of Covid outbreaks in nursing homes) that Biden praised today. That, in turn, compelled Biden to lurch away from the governor. Last week, it was Biden who put the nail in the coffin for Cuomo, calling for his resignation in the wake of a devastating report by the New York attorney general detailing a pattern of sexual harassment by the governor. But if Biden was hoping that would douse any Cuomo-related fires, today proved otherwise. In the hours before the president’s infrastructure remarks and promptly afterward, Cuomo’s political demise consumed cable news channels. When Biden finished speaking and turned to the media, the first question was predictable: “What is your reaction to Gov. Cuomo’s — to his announcement that he’s stepping down?” Do you work in the Biden administration? Are you in touch with the White House? Are you SUBHAN CHEEMA? 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. | 
