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 could be just a few weeks before KARINE JEAN-PIERRE goes from White House staffer to the face of the Biden presidency. With White House press secretary JEN PSAKI set to soon leave for a job as a cable television host, the feeling within the West Wing remains that Jean-Pierre, the deputy press secretary, is the inevitable successor. The shortlist for those with the inside track has remained relatively unchanged. In addition to Jean-Pierre, current White House Communications Director KATE BEDINGFIELD is still seen as a possible contender if she wants it. Bedingfield has been with Biden for years, is trusted by much of his inner-circle, and her last-minute briefing room substitution for Psaki last week was well-received within the West Wing. But there’s a catch: She has not expressed recent interest in the post and many of her colleagues expect her to depart the West Wing before the year is out. That’s not the only factor working in Jean-Pierre’s favor. She has also filled in repeatedly at the briefing room lectern. She handled a number of gaggles with reporters aboard Air Force One, and subbed in for Psaki on Biden’s last two international trips when the press secretary tested positive for COVID ahead of each. But picking Jean-Pierre would not come without risks. Her briefings have been choppy at times. And some White House aides remain concerned that she lacks some of the foreign policy experience necessary to take on the job at a time when international affairs are at the center of the president’s agenda due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “I wouldn't be surprised if they opted to go with someone with more proven foreign policy chops given what's happening in the world,” one Biden insider told West Wing Playbook. There is worry that Jean-Pierre relies more on the briefing binder in front of her when the topic turns to international affairs and is less able to parry questions like Psaki, who is able to draw upon years as spokesperson for the State Department. Last May, during a gaggle on Air Force One, Jean-Pierre mistakenly said the White House supported Ukraine joining NATO, which was later corrected in the Whie House transcript. For all that, Jean-Pierre is well-liked within the administration and in Democratic circles. In her 2019 book “Moving Forward,” she wrote about her time in the political world, and she has certainly risen the ranks, going from New York City politics to JOHN EDWARDS' 2008 presidential campaign to her current post. Jean-Pierre would be a historic choice: She became the first openly gay person to brief from the White House podium when she did so for the first time last year and just the second Black woman. ADRIENNE ELROD , who got to know Jean-Pierre when they were both contributors at MSNBC and worked on the Biden campaign, told West Wing Playbook that few press secretaries have had extensive foreign policy knowledge before taking the job, and Jean-Pierre’s domestic political experience could help Biden in a midterm year. “There is virtually no one who is going to have Jen Psaki’s resume,” Elrod said. “[Jean-Pierre] is going to continue to learn the issues as she goes forward, but I don’t see that as a weakness at all.” The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has also increased chatter about the possibility of Department of Defense Press Secretary JOHN KIRBY taking on the role. As West Wing Playbook previously reported , Kirby has become a go-to for the administration on some of the tougher assignments, including regular appearances on Fox News, and is respected among the Pentagon press corps. Though he lacks deep political comms experience in a midterm year and would present a very different political face for a Democratic administration in the year 2022 (Kirby is a nearly 60-year-old white man), there are some in Biden’s ear who believe that Kirby could be a short-term solution while the Ukraine invasion is the central story, and Jean-Pierre could take over down the road. The question of Psaki’s successor has taken on added urgency after new details of her plans leaked last week. Two people with knowledge told West Wing Playbook that senior staff asked Psaki to stay on the job late last year as the White House dealt with several ongoing crises, including the spread of Omicron and the buildup of Russian troops at the Ukrainian border. But some close to Biden are leery of the optics of her remaining on the job while a deal is being struck with MSNBC (one of the authors on this very newsletter hosts a show on said network). There is also internal White House speculation that she may leave sooner than planned, though multiple White House officials said no date has been chosen for her departure. ADAM CANCRYN contributed reporting. TEXT US — Are you in line to be the producer of Jen Psaki’s forthcoming MSNBC show? We want to hear from you (we’ll keep you anonymous). 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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