All in the [Biden] family

From: POLITICO West Wing Playbook - Tuesday Sep 21,2021 10:04 pm

Sep 21, 2021

Presented by The American Petroleum Institute (API)

Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. With Allie Bice.

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JOE BIDEN’s political life is inextricably tied to his family. They’ve worked on most of his campaigns, he talks to them regularly, and they’ve created political headaches for him — his son HUNTER BIDEN most of all.

It’s fitting, then, that one of the first Biden books of his presidency looks at the president through the lens of his wife, children and relatives: "The Bidens" by POLITICO’s BEN SCHRECKINGER, which is out today. We emailed back and forth with Ben about his new book and what he learned about the Biden family while writing it. Here’s our exchange, lightly edited for length:

Alex: In the book, you sit down with JILL BIDEN’s ex, BILL STEVENSON. Why did you decide to do that? What is he like?

Ben: He's an important figure in their backstory, not just as Jill's ex, but as a big backer of the '72 Senate campaign and later as a business rival of [Joe’s brother] JIMMY's. He's a real character. I recommend having a beer with him, if you get the chance.

Alex: What do you mean a character?

Ben: He's very emphatic when he speaks — his eyes kind of bulge when he makes a point — and he has these wild stories from his days as the owner of the Stone Balloon, which was this legendary rock club near the University of Delaware.

He also says that he was very close to KATHIE DURST, the first wife of the notorious New York real estate heir ROBERT DURST, and that he's working to bring Durst to justice over Kathie's 1982 disappearance (Durst, who was convicted this month of murdering another woman, has denied wrongdoing in the disappearance).

Alex: You’ve now dug deep into all the Bidens not named Joe: VAL, Jimmy, FRANK, Hunter, BEAU, ASHLEY, and Jill. Which one do you find the most interesting and why?

Ben : Like Val and Frank, Jimmy was involved from the start in his brother's political operation. His business dealings are at least as interesting as Hunter's, but he has kept a much lower profile than either Val or Hunter. I would definitely read a Jimmy Biden memoir.

Alex: What’s the business deal you want to know the most about?

Ben: Right now, it's the U.K. clean-energy venture that, according to The Financial Times, was abandoned this year after a White House ethics review.

Alex: You’ve spent hours reading old Joe Biden profiles and books. Which one did you think was the most insightful?

Ben : Can I throw a curveball and say old [Delaware] News Journal coverage? It's such a trove, and a throwback to the glory days of local newspapers.

Alex: Is there a particular News Journal story that’s stuck with you?

Ben: Off the top of my head, their coverage of Joe's 1973 Senate swearing-in. It captures the tumult and the surreality of the scene at the hospital as well as any glossy magazine would.

I'll also add that after I wrapped up the book, MAUREEN MILFORD, who was a longtime News Journal political correspondent, flagged to me a pretty extraordinary profile of Biden from 1970.

He's 27 years old and he's just been elected to the county council, and the profile is already comparing him to JACK KENNEDY , predicting he'll be a statesman, that he might even run for the Senate in 1972. The piece, by JANE HARRIMAN, is uncannily prescient.

Alex: What do you think the Biden family provides to the portrait of Biden himself that we don't already know?

Ben: Americans tend to have this 'great man' view of presidents as these towering figures who bend history to their will by dint of their extraordinary personalities. It's very individualistic. But I think the Trump era exploded a lot of the mythos surrounding the presidency.

Joe Biden is such a normal guy, and so I wanted to understand him in his context, rather than as some solitary figure. What's true for many people, but is more true for Biden, is that his context is his family. They were the political machine that won his first election, and they (well, mostly Hunter) were the vulnerability his enemies tried to exploit in this last election. So it's not one big thing, it's a hundred things: They offer the answer to what is motivating or enabling or constraining him at so many points along the way.

Alex: Can you go through some of your attempts to talk to members of the Biden family?

Ben: After a year-plus reporting on various family members for POLITICO, I had a pretty strong sense going in that they would not want to engage for the book.

I reached out to the transition and then to the White House about arranging interviews, but not surprisingly, I did not hear back. I also mostly did not hear back when I reached out to family members and their reps individually with questions. One of those reps is GEORGE MESIRES, a lawyer close to the family, who acts at times as a spokesman for Hunter and Jimmy.

The one family member who has engaged with me directly is Frank, and he's continued to engage even though the reporting is often investigative, looking into his business affairs. So I appreciate that. Thanks Frank, if you're a West Wing Playbook reader.

Do you work in the Biden administration? Are you in touch with the White House? Are you EVAN WESSEL, the policy adviser to the office of intergovernmental affairs?

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A message from The American Petroleum Institute (API):

The Environmental Partnership released its third annual report highlighting the industry’s progress in reducing flaring. Participants in the partnership’s new flare management program reported a 50 percent reduction in flare volumes from 2019 to 2020, even as oil and natural gas production remained consistent among participating companies. The partnership and its growing coalition continue to demonstrate the industry’s commitment to further reduce emissions and routine flaring and deliver improved environmental performance.

PRESIDENTIAL TRIVIA

This one is courtesy of reader PATTY JOYCE — three people served as president in the year 1881. Who were they?

(Answer at the bottom.)

The Oval

NEW FACES — DANIEL HORNUNG on the National Economic Council got a turn on the White House’s Instagram page today for one of the administration’s explainer videos.

Pool Dive

‘SCOTT’ FROM DOWN UNDER — The president does indeed know the Australian prime minister’s first name, according to a pool report this afternoon detailing a bilateral meeting between the two. Last week, Biden took heat for calling SCOTT MORRISON “that fella down under” as he announced a trilateral partnership with Britain and Australia.

Today, Biden met with Morrison at the Intercontinental Barclay New York hotel after his first speech to the U.N. General Assembly. And according to pooler JOEY GARRISON of USA Today, he “thanked Morrison, referring to him by his first name, 'Scott’.”

JOIN THURSDAY FOR A WOMEN RULE CONVERSATION ON ENDING SEXUAL ASSAULT IN THE MILITARY: Sexual assault in the military has been an issue for years, and political leaders are taking steps to address it. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) proposed bipartisan legislation to overhaul military sexual assault policies, but still face opposition. Join Women Rule for a virtual interview featuring Sens. Ernst and Gillibrand, who will discuss their legislative push and what it will take to end sexual assault and sexual harassment in the military. REGISTER HERE.

THE BUREAUCRATS

BECERRA ON THE OUTS — ADAM CANCRYN has an in-depth look at how Biden’s Health and Human Services Secretary XAVIER BECERRA has ceded much of the authority on the administration’s pandemic response to the White House and government scientists — and seldom been the one giving orders.

Administration officials say Becerra’s limited role has left the government without a strong intermediary between a fast-moving White House and HHS’ methodical scientific agencies — contributing to breakdowns in coordination that have hampered the response and fueled accusations of political interference.

ON THAT TOPIC: Adam also reports that Becerra has brought on former Obama-era health official LESLIE DACH as a temporary adviser to assist with the department’s messaging on the pandemic response.

THE DAILY (BIDEN) SHOW — JON STEWART’s The Daily Show was a favorite among many in BARACK OBAMA’s White House. It looks like Stewart’s new Apple TV show premiering Sept. 30, “The Problem with Jon Stewart,” is an early favorite of Biden’s as well. The short trailer that dropped earlier today included snippets from both Secretary of Veterans Affairs DENIS McDONOUGH and Treasury Secretary JANET YELLEN.

Agenda Setting

FRIENDLY FIRE, PART II — Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER (D-N.Y.) criticized the Biden administration’s handling of the crisis at the southern border , saying that deporting Haitian migrants “defies common sense,” MARIANNE LeVINE reports. In a statement, Schumer urged a stop “to these expulsions and to end this Title 42 policy at our southern border.”

MEANWHILE: Homeland Security Secretary ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS told Congress today that the Biden administration is aiming to relocate the thousands of migrants camped along the U.S. border in Del Rio, Texas by the month’s end, NICK NIEDZWIADEK reports.

“Our goal is to do so within the next 10 days or nine days,” Mayorkas said in response to questioning from Sen. JAMES LANKFORD (R-Ok.).

CLIMATE PLEDGE: In his U.N. General Assembly address, Biden announced that the administration would provide $11 billion in climate aid annually by 2024 to countries “vulnerable to extreme weather and rising temperatures,” ZACK COLMAN reports. The figure is nearly double a congressionally approved $5.7 billion commitment toward climate goals — how the administration will convince Congress to approve another increase in aid remains a big question mark.

Advise and Consent

TWO MORE JUDGES CONFIRMED — The Senate voted 52 to 45 to confirm MARGARET STRICKLAND to be a U.S. district judge for New Mexico, with Republicans SUSAN COLLINS of Maine, LISA MURKOWSKI of Alaska and LINDSEY GRAHAM of South Carolina joining all the Democrats present.

And last night, the Senate confirmed VERONICA ROSSMAN to be a Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals judge, 50 to 42, with Collins and Murkowski making it a bipartisan vote.

What We're Reading

Joe Biden tries convincing a skeptical world that the United States is back (Vanity Fair’s Charlotte Klein)

Harris 'deeply troubled' by images of Border Patrol agents on horseback blocking migrants (Fox News’ Adam Shaw)

Dems fear Biden’s domestic agenda could implode (POLITICO’s Burgess Everett and Heather Caygle)

In tense meeting with Antony Blinken, 'Havana Syndrome' diplomats complain of skepticism (NBC News’ Josh Lederman and Brenda Breslauer)

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Where's Joe

The president delivered remarks before the U.N. General Assembly in New York City and participated in a bilateral meeting with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. He also met with President BARHAM SALEH of Iraq on the margins of UNGA.

Biden then headed back to Washington, D.C. in the afternoon, where he met with U.K. Prime Minister BORIS JOHNSON in the Oval Office. Traveling with the president back to D.C.: assistants to the president MIKE DONILON, BRUCE REED, JEN PSAKI, JAKE SULLIVAN and STEPHEN GOEPFERT.

He also found time to place a phone call to Canadian Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU, congratulating him on his election victory Monday night.

Where's Kamala

In Washington, D.C. for the day. She visited the home of JAMIE SMITH, who is part of the so-called “Sandwich Generation,” caring for both her children and parents, to discuss the administration’s Build Back Better agenda.

Later, Harris met with MELINDA FRENCH GATES to discuss the pandemic in the VP’s office. She also met with Johnson in the vice president’s Ceremonial Office.

Vice presidential staff attending Harris and Johnson’s meeting included: national security adviser NANCY McELDOWNEY, chief of staff TINA FLOURNOY, and deputy national security adviser PHILIP GORDON. State Department Undersecretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights UZRA ZEYA, special adviser LISA SAWYER and NSC chief of staff YOHANNES ABRAHAM also attended.

The Oppo Book

National Economic Council director BRIAN DEESE got stuck in Chicago once when he was working on then-presidential candidate BARACK OBAMA’s campaign.

He was unable to fly back to Washington from Chicago with his dog, so he took it upon himself to start driving back to the District, according to a 2009 New York Times profile on Deese.

When he reached Ohio, Deese pulled his car over and parked in a lot to get some sleep. “I slept in the parking lot of the G.M. plant in Lordstown, Ohio,” he told the Times back then.

We’re all for safe driving here at West Wing Playbook. But, let’s be real, the Chicago-D.C. drive can be done in one stretch, Brian.

Trivia Answer

RUTHERFORD B. HAYES, JAMES GARFIELD and CHESTER ARTHUR all served as president in 1881.

AND A CALL OUT — A big thanks to Patty for suggesting this question. Do you have a really hard trivia question about the presidency? Send us your best one and we may use it: westwingtips@politico.com.

We want your trivia, 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 The American Petroleum Institute (API):

In 2020, The Environmental Partnership launched its latest environmental performance program, which is focused on reducing flaring of associated gas in oilfield operations. As part of the flare management program, companies are advancing best practices to avoid flaring and minimize emissions. To gauge progress, participants in the program have committed to report data to calculate flare intensity, a measurement of flare volumes relative to production. Participants reported a 50 percent reduction in flare volumes from 2019 to 2020, even as oil and natural gas production remained consistent among participating companies. This progress underscores the industry’s commitment to advancing best practices to reduce flare volumes, promoting the beneficial use of associated gas and improving flare reliability and efficiency. Read more about the partnership’s commitment to environmental progress in its third annual report.