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 JEN HOWARD often wears a silver necklace emblazoned with one word in a delicate, cursive script: “Fuck.” The irreverent jewelry is emblematic of the, at times, combative attitude she’s brought to the role of chief of staff at the Federal Trade Commission. It’s an attitude that helped her rise through the ranks, including stints at a variety of government agencies. But it’s one that has alienated her from others within the Biden administration. One person with direct knowledge of the dynamic told West Wing Playbook that some officials within the White House were concerned about the friction between Howard and others at the FTC over her aggressive managerial style. Multiple other Biden administration officials told West Wing Playbook they personally avoided interacting with her. She has a polarizing reputation among FTC staff and with some congressional Democrats, who described her as blunt and rude, bordering on mean. Howard’s approach to the job contributed to the resignation of the FTC’s top economist in February, according to three people familiar with the departure. The White House did not address West Wing Playbook’s individual questions. But in a statement, assistant press secretary EMILIE SIMONS praised the work of FTC chair LINA KHAN and her staff. “Chair Lina Khan and the entire team at the Federal Trade Commission have been strong partners in both thought and action, consistently pushing forward and making progress on the Administration’s antitrust priorities and competition agenda,” she said. Antitrust has been one of the bright spots in the Biden administration for many on the left, who have applauded the FTC’s challenges against mergers that progressives view as anticompetitive. President Joe Biden announced last June that the 33-year-old Khan, a progressive with major backing from an up-and-coming generation of anti-monopoly activists, wouldn’t just be the FTC’s newest commissioner but the agency’s chair. Within hours of being sworn in, Khan announced that Howard would be remaining at the FTC as her chief of staff instead of departing for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with her old boss, ROHIT CHOPRA, as most had expected. Howard got off to a rocky start under Khan. She angered many within the building by ordering all 1,100 FTC staff to cancel any public appearances and to tell anyone who asked that it was because of “pressing matters at the FTC.” An FTC spokesperson said the pause was only temporary in order to reduce events with any perceived conflicts of interest, and Howard "worked with leadership across the agency to craft best practices, which were published internally in September and have been in place since." In the months since, Howard has insisted that most press requests be routed through her, effectively usurping the FTC’s public affairs division. While Khan is frequently invited to speak at conferences, at Howard’s direction the FTC often won’t confirm her appearance until a few days before to prevent organizers from capitalizing on Khan’s star power. An FTC spokesperson pushed back against the notion that Howard had control over media appearances, saying the "only requests that are flagged for the chief of staff are those that relate to the chair or major news items, which is standard practice for all FTC chairs." The spokesperson also dismissed the idea that the agency purposefully keeps Khan off some conference speaker lineups, pointing out that she has been confirmed for an upcoming event with the IAPP for weeks. Howard has been accused by Republican FTC Commissioner Christine Wilson of using the so-called FUD playbook — a public relations tactic to influence opinion by creating Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt. When Wilson later complained about being cut off from information about what mergers the FTC was reviewing, Howard responded with an eye roll emoji on Twitter. “In order to get trust, you need to give trust. And that is sorely lacking,” one FTC insider said of Howard. Still, Howard has equally fierce defenders. Some well-known progressive economic advocates and administration officials feel that she deserves some of the credit for the administration’s recent victories on the antitrust front, as well as those accomplished at the CFPB under former head RICHARD CORDRAY. If she hurts people’s feelings, it’s because she’s an aggressive reformer who cares deeply about the issues, they argue. DAN GELDON, the former chief of staff to Sen. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-Mass.), told West Wing Playbook that “FTC has been a mess for a generation, and Lina and Jen are turning the ship quickly and targeting a lot of powerful companies. Insider sniping is inevitable in those circumstances and of course people are going to try to undermine Jen to undermine Lina, but it's hard for me to see it working or blunting their momentum.” Howard started her D.C. career at the nonprofit advocacy group Free Press before moving on to the press shops at the Federal Communications Commission and the CFPB. She moved to the FTC in 2018 as Chopra’s chief of staff when he became a commissioner, filling a spot generally held by an attorney. Working for a Democratic commissioner in the minority, Howard’s sharp-elbowed style was considered more of a nuisance than an organizational problem. All of that changed, however, when Howard became Khan’s chief of staff, effectively becoming the top FTC staffer helping to direct the agency’s priorities. Howard seems aware that sometimes her bluntness goes too far. As an apology, she has been known to bring a pie, two sources told West Wing Playbook. It’s always the same: chocolate chess pie. "I have always found quality snacks to be a great connector," she told us, indicating the pies come from a local D.C. bakery, Whisked, and she also brings them in for "birthdays and special occasions." MEA CULPA: Yesterday, we wrote that KARINE JEAN-PIERRE was the first openly gay spokesperson to brief from the podium. She is the first openly gay woman. ERIC SCHULTZ was the first openly gay person to brief from the podium. This is the second time we’ve made this exact error (Eric, we are not trying to erase you, we promise). But that means we feel especially dumb about the mistake! TEXT US — Are you LAURA ROSENBERGER, the National Security Council’s senior director for China? 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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