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 The hunt for JILL BIDEN’s next spokesperson is on. In recent weeks, the White House has started talking to potential candidates who will replace former FLOTUS press secretary MICHAEL LAROSA, who left the job last week for a gig at a D.C. strategy firm. People familiar with the process told West Wing Playbook that the first lady’s team has considered a number of potential candidates. Among them are current and former Biden administration officials including U.S. Surgeon General VIVEK MURTHY’s communication’s director ALEXANDRIA PHILLIPS, Precision Strategies’ SEAN HIGGINS, and White House communications officials JEN MOLINA and ERICA LOEWE. Multiple people with knowledge of the search process said the first lady’s staff have had conversations with some candidates, but it’s still a fairly open search. It’s unclear if the first lady has personally spoken with candidates for the job, an obvious prerequisite for hiring a position of that stature. One reason she may have put off those interviews is she’s not in D.C. CNN’s KATE BENNETT reported on Thursday that the first lady has been quarantined in Delaware over the past few weeks, as her husband continues to test positive for Covid. Whoever ends up with the job will need the sign off of the first lady’s comms director, ELIZABETH ALEXANDER. The person will also need to charm senior adviser ANTHONY BERNAL, a key figure in Jill Biden’s orbit, well-known within the administration for his intensity and occasionally aggressiveness. When asked about qualifications to take over the press secretary gig, one Biden White House veteran remarked: “The number one quality you need is someone who can deal with Anthony.” The White House declined to comment. The press sec role for the first lady comes with a specific set of responsibilities in addition to requiring a unique set of skills. Jill Biden and her staff often attempt to avoid the rough and tumble world of daily politics (and pesky political media outlets who cover it like this one), and find a more receptive audience in lifestyle and soft-focus media publications. Like previous first ladies, Biden largely avoids the world of cable, instead appearing on human interest television programs like CBS This Morning and magazines like People and Real Simple . But that hasn’t kept her completely away from political controversy. The first lady’s office was forced to issue a rare apology earlier this year after she compared the diversity of the Hispanic community to “breakfast tacos,” prompting a rebuke from the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. Her issue portfolio has also begun to shift throughout the second year of her husband’s administration. A major priority for the first lady’s first year in office was advocating for vaccines and boosters against Covid-19. But as the president faces low approval ratings and midterm elections loom, she’s shifting her focus. According to the Associated Press’ DARLENE SUPERVILLE , who knows the first lady as well as any journalist on the White House beat, Biden is on a “new mission … working to help elect Democrats who can help her husband." CNN also reported on Thursday that Jill Biden caught some in the administration off guard when she canceled a July trip to Africa, reporting that she has “zero interest in unveiling a branded initiative, second term or no, telling her staff there are just too many projects and priorities for her to focus on.” At least one Biden world veteran believes that whoever the first lady’s team finds for press secretary, they’ll confront far choppier political watters than during the first year and a half. And that doesn’t even take into account the legacy left by the predecessor. Asked about the hunt for his replacement, LaRosa told West Wing Playbook in a text message: “They are conducting a thorough process and nationwide search… but I have it on good authority that I could never truly be replaced.” MESSAGE US — Are you DORINDA SALCIDO, director for strategic communications and external engagement for the Covid-19 response? We want to hear from you! And we’ll keep you anonymous if you’d like. 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 .
| 
