Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. With help from Allie Bice. Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Max It started with a tweet. Last February, the Energy Department’s new press secretary KEVIN LIAO, who previously worked in California politics, tweeted an oblique joke about L.A. City Council Member KEVIN DE LEON bungling the pledge of allegiance. Not everyone found it funny. The Energy Department’s chief of staff, TARAK SHAH, received unhappy calls from California congressional offices and White House officials, according to a person familiar with the matter. Rep. JIMMY GOMEZ (D-Calif.) tweeted that, “Unprofessional tweets reflect on your bosses.” Rep. RO KHANNA (D-Calif.) also tweeted that many in the state’s delegation “expect better.” Rep. NORMA TORRES (D-Calif.) seconded Khanna and said Liao should stop the “childish attacks.” Shah was furious. As punishment, he made Liao deliver a presentation to the dozens of new political appointees about social media best practices on a weekly call with all politicals, according to three former Energy Department officials. Several people on the call were stunned by the discipline, believing it was designed to publicly humiliate Liao in front of his new colleagues. The incident, which hasn’t been previously reported, prompted an internal complaint to the department’s White House liaison CAROLINE GREY about Shah, four former DOE officials told West Wing Playbook. Liao declined to comment. It was the first of several conversations staff had with Grey over the course of the past 14 months in which they raised concerns about the work environment Shah had created. Shah is far from the first — and certainly won’t be the last — boss in politics to be accused of being too tough on subordinates. But his actions sparked internal debates about workplace culture and conduct. They also were emblematic of what has become an, at times, bumpy first year for the Department of Energy. Several senior department officials have departed the administration or moved to other agencies. Some left in part because of Shah’s management style, according to three former Energy Department officials. The department has taken on historic significance under President JOE BIDEN, who has tasked it with helping spearhead major parts of his climate change agenda and with helping confront energy crises stemming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. By and large, environmental activists have been pleased with the department’s leadership. “My general impression of the Department of Energy is there are a lot of talented people working there and that Secretary [JENNIFER] GRANHOLM is a singular force and probably the best climate advocate climate advocate President Biden has,” JAMAL RAAD, the cofounder of Evergreen Action, told West Wing Playbook. But there has also been personnel churn at high levels. The departures include JENNIFER KROPKE, the director of energy jobs, who was heading up a new office within the department that Secretary Granholm had tasked with a “whole-of-government approach” to ensure government funding is directed to energy jobs that are high-paying. Since she departed in September, Kropke, who cited “family” needs in her departure note, has not been replaced. Other departures include deputy chief of staff YAHAIRA LOPEZ; the chief of staff for the office of science, TANYA DAS; the chief of staff for the office of fossil energy and carbon management, SHUCHI TALATI, who’s leaving tomorrow; and several others. The churn continued last week when Shah himself announced his departure. Asked about the complaints and the incident with Liao, Shah said in a statement: “I take my responsibility seriously to build and lead an inclusive, diverse, and respectful team that is held to the highest standards of public service.” A White House spokesperson said that only five of 90 political appointees at DOE — about 6 percent — have left since Jan. 2021, although several more are now detailed to other parts of the administration. Asked for comment, the Energy Department pointed us to Granholm’s all-staff email last week in which she wrote: “It’s hard to have imagined a better person by my side than Tarak during this first historic year. So much of the innovative work this agency has accomplished in the past year has originated with him — and as a result, DOE is positioned for success not only in the near term but in the decades to come.” TEXT US — Are you ANDY RABENS, director for global engagement and multilateral diplomacy at the National Security Council? We want to hear from you (we’ll keep you anonymous). MEA CULPA: Yesterday, we misspelled KIRSTEN ALLEN’s first name as "Kristen." We feel dumb about the error. We also said that CNN's DANIEL DALE hadn't written any Biden-focused fact checks since January. That wasn't quite accurate: Though it didn't appear on this author page, Dale led CNN's fact checking team during the State of the Union earlier this month. Or if you think we missed something in today’s edition, let us know and we may include it tomorrow. Email us at westwingtips@politico.com or you can text/Signal/Wickr/WhatsApp Alex at 8183240098 or Max at 7143455427.
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