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Presented by Facebook: | | | | | |  | | By Sam Stein and Alex Thompson | | | Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. With Allie Bice and Nick Niedzwiadek Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Tina With his TV hits coming nearly as frequently as Twitter posts, RON KLAIN is as ubiquitous as any White House chief of staff, well, ever. But one would be forgiven for doing a double take over one of the public appearances he made this past week. President JOE BIDEN’ s top aide was a headline guest at the SALT Conference on Wednesday, the annual gathering of business leaders put on by ANTHONY SCARAMUCCI, the hedge fund manager-turned DONALD TRUMP communications director-turned symbol of schadenfreude-turned impresario once more. Klain’s presence at this year’s go around may have been via video feed and moderated by ROBERT WOLF, a former Obama economic adviser. But it also gave it a certain imprimatur and underscored how massively American politics has changed in a short period of time. The SALT conference, after all, was launched as something of an F-U to the Obama White House. In 2009, then President BARACK OBAMA warned Wall Street banks to stop throwing junkets after they’d been bailed out by taxpayers. So what did Scaramucci do? He threw a shindig in Las Vegas, catering to disaffected financiers and aiming to prop up a city being crushed by the absence of the convention circuit. A year later came a more direct confrontation. Looking to make the case that the economic malaise he’d inherited from the Great Recession was, itself, receding, Obama sat down for a town hall on CNBC. And, wouldn’t you know it, one of the questioners was Scaramucci, a semi-regular on the network. | "So,” he asked Obama, “first question, when are we going to stop whacking at the Wall Street piñata?" Obama said he was “amused” by the notion that he had been “beating up on Wall Street.” He wasn’t actually amused. For the prior year, his economic team had tried to balance two often divergent interests: making sure the financial system was on solid footing and not being subsumed by an increasingly piqued anti-Wall Street movement taking hold across the country. In the end, they made a series of decisions (not aggressively forcing banks to help homeowners, forgoing prosecutions of those responsible for the financial crisis, but still passing financial regulatory reform) that left it with the worst of all worlds: being perceived by Wall Street as anti-business and being perceived as soft on Wall Street by many on the left and right. Biden is operating in a far different climate. The mess he inherited was not created by a collapsed financial system. It was the product of a once-in-a-century pandemic and a sitting president who half the country thought was, at best, off his rocker and, at worst, quite dangerous. For that reason, his administration has had relatively cordial relations with the type of business entities (see: the U.S. Chamber of Commerce) that vexed the last Democratic president; even as it pursues policies traditionally considered anti-business (such as hiking the corporate tax rate). Their commonalities, they’ve concluded, are more important. In an interview, Scaramucci said Klain had no reservations about appearing at this year’s conference. He said, beyond SALT, he talks to aides in the White House about policy matters, “like the debt ceiling and taxation” and cryptocurrency regulation. He spoke supportively of some White House proposals — “we have to accept higher taxes as corporate people” — and with skepticism of others. “You’ve got the government trying to figure out how to rebuild the country without going too crazy on the overspend,” he said of the reconciliation bill. More broadly, he acknowledged that the shifting political landscape has made for new types of relationships. “I wanna live in that lane of pragmatism and bridge building,” Scaramucci said. “And I think Ron Klain understands that. I went against Trump because I think he’s lost the plot line for the United States. This is not a country that should be heading towards facism and disunity.” As Biden and his fellow Democrats make the turn into the election year, they too are talking about the fate of the country in these terms. They’ve leaned into vaccine mandates not just as a matter of public health, but of a sign of a politician’s sensibility. They’ve spoken more openly about the threats of election denialism. And to a degree that they hadn’t been doing all year long, they’re evoking the prospects of Trumpism returning to energize voters. “You either keep GAVIN NEWSOM as your governor, or you'll get Trump," Biden declared at a rally for the California governor, as he faced (and fended off) a recall election. Biden himself appeared at a SALT conference back in 2017. And Scaramucci said there was an open invitation for him to attend again. I asked him if he’d have Trump on the dais too. “No. Only because he is the gatling gun of liars and I don't want to put liars up on the stage,” he replied. “But if I thought Trump's voice was an important voice and it was going to lead to intellectual stimulation… Then I would put him on that stage.” Do you work in the Biden administration? Are you in touch with the White House? Are you director of the travel office, ADRIAN CULEA? 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. | | A message from Facebook: Internet regulations are as outdated as dial-up.
The internet has changed a lot in the last 25 years. That's why Facebook supports updated internet regulations to address today's toughest challenges, including:
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- Reforming Section 230 | | | | | | This one’s courtesy of reporter BEN JACOBS — Who was the first Jewish Cabinet member and which president appointed him? (Answer at the bottom.) | | | | 
Cartoon by Pat Bagley | Courtesy of the Salt Lake Tribune | Every Friday, we feature a cartoon of the week — this one is courtesy of the Salt Lake Tribune’s PAT BAGLEY. Our very own MATT WUERKER also publishes a selection of cartoons from all over the country. View the cartoon carousel here. | | | BOOSTER DRAMA — There was a bit of high drama this afternoon at the gathering of the Food and Drug Administration’s advisory committee as it considered authorization of a booster shot for the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine. The 18-member board first voted against authorizing use for those 16 years and older, prompting an incredible freak out online by those who read it as a huge blow to the president’s pledge to start delivering booster shots to American adults by Sept. 20th. But, moments later, another vote occurred. And this time, the committee unanimously recommended authorizing the use of booster shots for those 65 and older and those at high risk of severe Covid. Of note: This is a group of outside experts and their recommendations are non-binding. POLITICO’s LAUREN GARDNER has the full run-down of the meeting here. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: The administration really wants you to read this blog from the Council of Economic Advisers with the click-bait headline: “The Economic Benefits of Extending Permanent Legal Status to Unauthorized Immigrants.” The CEA, NEC director BRIAN DEESE, political director EMMY RUIZ, Agriculture Secretary TOM VILSAK, deputy communications director PILI TOBAR, director of intergovernmental affairs JULIE RODRIGUEZ, deputy Cabinet secretary CRISTÓBAL ALEX, Commerce Secretary GINA RAIMONDO, and Vice President KAMALA HARRIS all shared the piece today. The White House acknowledged to WWP that their desired audience wasn't just the public, but also the Senate parliamentarian, who is currently weighing whether the DREAM Act has sufficient budgetary impact to qualify for reconciliation. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: Any story about the Pentagon acknowledging — on a Friday afternoon — that the August 29 drone strike in Afghanistan they had previously called “righteous” mistakenly killed 10 civilians, including 7 children, and no terrorists. As LARA SELIGMAN wrote, Gen. FRANK McKENZIE, head of U.S. Central Command, told reporters Friday that they now assess that “it is unlikely” the man and vehicle targeted was affiliated with ISIS-K, the Afghanistan branch of ISIS, or "a direct threat to U.S. forces." The Pentagon acknowledged that The New York Times’ investigation into the strike factored into their own review of what happened. That story “identified the driver as Zemari Ahmadi, a longtime worker for a U.S. aid group. The evidence suggests that his travels that day actually involved transporting colleagues to and from work. And an analysis of video feeds showed that what the military may have seen was Mr. Ahmadi and a colleague loading canisters of water into his trunk to bring home to his family.” | | | HOW DO YOU SAY ‘SHIT SHOW’ IN FRENCH? — The French government announced it is recalling its ambassadors to the U.S. and Australia in the aftermath of the joint security pact between Washington and Canberra that blindsided France and left its leaders furious. French Foreign Minister JEAN-YVES LE DRIAN said “[t]his exceptional decision is justified by the exceptional gravity of the announcements made on 15 September by Australia and the United States.” POLITICO Europe’s RYM MOMTAZ paints a picture of just how incandescent French officials are right now over the submarine deal, with Biden being one of the pictures on their proverbial dartboard. TINSELTOWN PETE: Transportation Secretary PETE BUTTIGIEG will not be walking the red carpet at the premiere of “Mayor Pete,” a documentary about him, at the Chicago International Film Festival next month, his office tells us. The movie’s PR team boasts the film “brings viewers inside Pete’s campaign to be the youngest U.S. President, providing an unprecedented intimacy with the candidate, his husband Chasten, and their ambitious team.” Notably, it is rated ‘R’ for “language.” (The Clinton 1992 documentary, “The War Room,” was rated PG). FROM IL PLAYBOOK: Energy Secretary JENNIFER GRANHOLM showered Illinois lawmakers with praise after passage of the clean-energy legislation that was three years in the making. The former governor of nearby Michigan tweeted her congratulations to Democratic Gov. J.B. PRITZKER and then talked to him on the phone, SHIA KAPOS reports. Granholm also got an op-ed published on CNN.com today on Build Back Better. | | | |   | | | | | | CAN BIDEN TREND? The pro-Biden outside group Building Back Together was among the top 10 spenders on Facebook and Instagram last week, according to FWIW , the progressive newsletter that tracks digital politics. The ads focused on several parts of the “Build Back Better” agenda, like prescription drug costs and investing in home care. | | | White House warns of program cuts to local government if debt limit not raised (AP’s Josh Boak) Dems worry about blowback against Biden from investigations into Afghanistan withdrawal (POLITICO’s Andrew Desiderio) The cringey Oval Pawffice Twitter account has been tweeting odd claims about Afghanistan (Vice’s Gita Jackson) BLM moving back to Washington, reversing controversial relocation to Colorado under Trump (NYT’s Lisa Friedman) | | | He addressed a virtual session of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate in the morning, and then departed for Rehoboth Beach, Del. for the weekend. | | | No public events scheduled. | | | Domestic Policy Council director SUSAN RICE doesn’t have a go-to dance move, she told BuzzFeed’s TRACY CLAYTON and HEBEN NIGATU in 2016. Asked what she does down the soul train line, Rice said she’s usually “doing what I need to do.” “Here's the problem,” she added. “Here's the honest, no kidding problem. My knees!” Rice said that the years of playing sports have taken a toll on the joints, and that it’s prevented her from really busting moves. “I'm an athlete and I'm old enough to be your mother,” she told Clayton and Nigatu. “If I go out and really throw down, the next day … I'm limping around.” Same, Susan, same. | | | OSCAR STRAUS — President THEODORE ROOSEVELT's secretary of Commerce and Labor in 1906. We want your tips, but we also want your feedback. What should we be covering in this newsletter that we’re not? What are we getting wrong? Please let us know. Edited by Emily Cadei | | A message from Facebook: Why Facebook supports reforming Section 230
The internet has changed a lot in the last 25 years—the last time comprehensive internet regulations were passed. There are more ways to share than ever before—and more challenges, too.
That's why we support updating internet regulations—including reforming Section 230, to set standards for the way larger tech companies enforce rules about content.
Learn more about the steps we've taken and why we support updated internet regulations next. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
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