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Presented by Walmart: | | | | | |  | | By Nick Niedzwiadek, Tina Sfondeles, Alex Thompson and Max Tani | Presented by Walmart | Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. With Allie Bice. Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Max Earlier today, the Senate confirmed President JOE BIDEN’s 42nd federal judge to a lifetime post — and 13th judge on the all-important appellate courts. As chief of staff RON KLAIN reminded viewers of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” this morning, “One thing we’ve done that hasn’t gotten a lot of attention is confirmed more federal judges than any president in four decades.” That’s true, but it also belies a more sobering reality for Democrats: even with the historic progress, there’s little hope the White House will be able to fundamentally rebalance the rightward turn the judiciary took under President DONALD TRUMP, at least in the foreseeable future. “Trump made a huge dent in the judiciary,” JILL DASH, the American Constitution Society’s vice president of strategic engagement, said in an interview. “There’s just not a lot of room, in terms of future vacancies, for the Biden administration to be flipping the balance.” The judicial branch tends to detest the partisanship-of-the-nominating-president heuristic – arguing it’s reductive. However it is a proxy used by, well, most everyone else to approximate ideological leanings of judges and identify outliers. (See: SOUTER, DAVID) Trump’s 226 appointees made up more than a quarter of the federal bench — including three of nine seats on the Supreme Court — and swung the ideological balance of three of the 13 appellate courts. In other circuits, Republicans further cemented existing conservative majorities or chipped away at courts with a liberal valence. The bulk of confirmations under Biden thus far have either been in blue states or to replace other Democrat-nominated judges. So despite the remarkable number of judges the Senate has voted through — and their historic diversity, professionally and demographically — Democrats have succeeded in flipping back just one appellate court to a Democratic-appointed majority in Biden’s first year. And it was the traditionally liberal, New York-based 2nd Circuit, which Trump and Senate Republicans had narrowly swung the other way. Similarly consequential opportunities appear scarce. A court to watch is the Philly-based 3rd Circuit, where liberals are only a seat away from evening out the 14-judge bench. In December, then-Chief Judge D. BROOKS SMITH — a GEORGE W. BUSH appointee — took senior status, creating a readymade opening for Biden. But it would require a massive turnover of judges — and, likely, the cooperation of Republican senators who represent the states where the courts are based — to swing the partisan balance of the other four appellate courts with Republican-appointed majorities, the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th Circuits. Those also happen to be the courts that have struck some of the most devastating legal blows to the Biden administration in its first year. The New Orleans-based 5th Circuit Court, in particular, stayed the White House’s vaccine mandate for large businesses, and also upheld Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy for processing asylum seekers at the southern border. But the overall ideological or partisan lean of an appeals court is not always predictive. The 6th Circuit Court, for example, overruled the 5th on Biden’s vaccine mandate, with a judge appointed by George W. Bush siding with an Obama-appointed judge on the three judge panel. The third judge, a Trump appointee, dissented. And, in theory, the president still has plenty of time to influence the make-up of the federal courts. “At this point these numbers are kind of like snapshots, you know? They're kind of like one cell in a film,” said the Brooking Institution’s RUSSELL WHEELER, who is readying a forthcoming analysis on judicial appointments. As Wheeler and others point out, judges can unexpectedly die or step aside for a number of reasons, while others try to time things more strategically. But Democrats remain chastened about banking on the luxury of time after Obama was stymied by Republican obstruction in his second term. Observers are quick to point out the potential for the midterms to upend Biden’s confirmations going forward. “If the Senate goes Republican, you know, all bets are off because they’ll pretty much stop confirming judges, I think,” Wheeler said. SEND YOUR HAWT TAKE — We want to incorporate more of your feedback. Is there something we missed in today’s edition? Do you have a tip to share or a thought on our coverage? Send us an email or text and we will try to include your feedback in the next day’s edition. Can be anonymous, on background, etc. Email us at westwingtips@politico.com or you can text/Signal Alex at 8183240098 or Max at 7143455427. Do you work in the Biden administration? Are you in touch with the White House? Are you new DNC comms director KRISTEN ORTHMAN? | | | | A message from Walmart: Walmart is expanding InHome delivery to reach 30 million homes. Since 2019, Walmart's InHome delivery service has given time back to families by using highly-trained associates to deliver fresh groceries directly to customers. This year, Walmart will hire more than 3,000 associate delivery drivers, promoting from within, and build out a fleet of 100% all-electric vehicles, expanding service from 6 million to over 30 million U.S. homes by the end of the year. Learn more. | | | | | | From the University of Virginia’s Miller Center Which president hosted a cocktail hour at the White House every day for his inner circle of advisers? (Answer at the bottom.) | | | NEW IMMIGRATION CZAR — TYLER MORAN, the departing head of immigration in the White House, will be replaced by LISE CLAVEL , currently chief of staff at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, a Biden administration official tells us. The news, first reported by Reuters, is the latest personnel change in an issue that has dogged the Biden administration. Unlike Moran, Clavel has more of a political background than a policy one. She was a deputy campaign manager for BETO O’ROURKE’s presidential campaign in the 2020 primary, worked on MIKE BLOOMBERG’s presidential campaign, and then joined Biden’s campaign in the general, per her LinkedIn. BLANKETING THE AIRWAVES: The White House has been on a media tear this week to mark Biden's first year in office. Part victory lap, part clean up, a number of top administration officials fanned out on Thursday for a series of interviews dominated by the president's remarks yesterday at the marathon press conference. Vice President KAMALA HARRIS appeared on all three big network morning shows, defending the recent voting rights push and getting frustrated when pushed by Today’s SAVANNAH GUTHRIE on Biden's stance on a possible Russian incursion into Ukraine. Chief of staff Ron Klain followed up his recent interviews with several online and print outlets, appearing this morning on Morning Joe. While JEN PSAKI handled the daytime cable networks, including making the rare appearance on Fox News, where host and former White House press secretary DANA PERINO reminisced about her presidential press conference anxieties working on President George W. Bush’s communications team. “I was having a heart attack for you,” Perino said. KNOLLER CORNER: Veteran White House reporter MARK KNOLLER has this tabulation on Biden’s first year: Church Visits – 37
Media Interviews – 16
Visits to Arlington National Cemetery – 3
Capitol Visits – 9
Commencements – 2
Air Force One flights – 124
Marine One flights – 199
Medals of Honor presented – 4
States Visited – 28
Most Visited State – Delaware (32 times) HOT MIC MOMENT: As Biden was departing a meeting with his technology council this afternoon, Fox News’ JACQUI HEINRICH shouted after him, “Why are you waiting on Putin to make the first move, sir?” Biden responded under his breath: “What a stupid question.” For a substantive read on what’s going on with Russia and Ukraine, we suggest our POLITICO Europe colleagues’ story today. | | | | BECOME A GLOBAL INSIDER: The world is more connected than ever. It has never been more essential to identify, unpack and analyze important news, trends and decisions shaping our future — and we’ve got you covered! Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Global Insider author Ryan Heath navigates the global news maze and connects you to power players and events changing our world. Don’t miss out on this influential global community. Subscribe now. | | | | | | | | WHAT FOREIGN DIPLOMATS THINK OF THIS WHITE HOUSE — RYAN HEATH, ALEXANDER WARD and NAHAL TOOSI spoke with 19 ambassadors and senior embassy staff serving in Washington, D.C., and hailing from Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and the Pacific. In nearly unanimous fashion, they described an administration that is more organized and process-driven than the previous one. While fewer diplomats now have tweet notifications set for White House accounts, the rub is that they feel left out by an administration that takes pains to say it’s deliberate and consultative. “At the end of the day, what are we talking about? We're talking about 10 fucking minutes of your time,” said one ambassador from a European Union country. But for many large European countries, there’s been a noticeable improvement in the Biden administration’s engagement since the Afghanistan debacle, Heath, Ward and Toosi write. In fact, more powerful regional countries tend to receive a lot of attention from Biden’s team. “I’ve been spoiled,” said one ambassador from Asia. “More or less, we can have immediate communication.” | | | STACKING THE 9TH — The Senate Thursday voted 48-40, along party lines, to confirm HOLLY THOMAS to serve as a U.S. Circuit Judge for the 9th Circuit. She will be the second Black woman ever to serve on the court. Thomas is also the fourth nominee by the president to be confirmed for the 9th Circuit, following GABRIEL SANCHEZ’s confirmation earlier this month. | | | ‘The Lowest Point in My Lifetime’: How 14 Independent Voters Feel About America (New York Times) ‘I feel really at home.’ Jill Biden returns to her native N.J. to tout federal aid for colleges, students. (NJ.com’s Brent Johnson) Why the free Covid test website was such a shock (Cyd Harrell for POLITICO Magazine) | | | | A message from Walmart:   | | | | | | First in West Wing Playbook: Psaki will be on The View tomorrow at 11 a.m. ET. Chief of staff Ron Klain will be on NBC Nightly News with LESTER HOLT at 6:30pm ET tonight. Klain will also appear on MSNBC’s “All In with Chris Hayes” at 8 p.m. ET. Transportation Secretary PETE BUTTIGIEG will be on MSNBC’s “The ReidOut” at 7 p.m. ET. | | | He received the President’s Daily Brief in the morning, before meeting with his infrastructure implementation task force and later, the president’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. This evening, the president will speak at a virtual DNC grassroots event. | | | She joined the president for the infrastructure implementation task force meeting this morning and will also address the virtual DNC event. | | | | DON’T MISS CONGRESS MINUTES: Need to follow the action on Capitol Hill blow-by-blow? Check out Minutes, POLITICO’s new platform that delivers the latest exclusives, twists and much more in real time. Get it on your desktop or download the POLITICO mobile app for iOS or Android. CHECK OUT CONGRESS MINUTES HERE. | | | | | | | | SARAH BIANCHI, Biden's deputy U.S. trade representative, didn't really consider a career in politics when she was a kid — she "grew up during the Reagan-Bush years, so working in the federal government didn't seem like a way to impact positive change," she told her grade school alma mater, the Paideia School in Georgia. "I thought I would be a teacher or maybe a doctor, although then I realized I don't much like science or blood," she added. That changed during BILL CLINTON 's presidency: "All of sudden our president was talking about things that seemed to really matter - the Family and Medical Leave Act, recruiting young people to public service through Americorps. And I saw there were young people working in those jobs. That is what got me thinking – hey, maybe that's a way to make a difference." | | | FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT. An extremely outgoing man who relished the company of others, FDR also enjoyed collecting stamps, bird watching, playing cards, and swimming in the pool he had built at the White House, even as most of his time in office was consumed leading the nation through the Great Depression and the Second World War. For more on Roosevelt’s hobbies, visit millercenter.org. Got a better question? Send us your hardest trivia question on the presidents and we may feature it on Wednesdays. Edited by Emily Cadei | | | | A message from Walmart: Walmart’s InHome delivery service expansion is an important piece of the retailer’s low-cost last-mile delivery strategy.
In support, Walmart will hire more than 3,000 associate delivery drivers by promoting from within, building on a track record that saw more than 300,000 associates elevated across the company in 2021. Additionally, the company will build out a fleet of 100% all-electric vehicles, supported by a growing infrastructure of 1,396 EV charging stations at stores across 41 states.
Learn more about Walmart’s InHome service and commitment to sustainable and innovative delivery. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
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