Bottoms (not) up

By Alex Thompson and Max Tani

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Last Thursday, President JOE BIDEN stopped by to greet dozens of state and local elected officials from Pennsylvania at an event hosted by the White House offices of intergovernmental affairs and public engagement.

But by the time he arrived, the head of the public engagement office (OPE), former Atlanta Mayor KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS, wasn’t there. After delivering remarks earlier in the day, Lance Bottoms left for home in Georgia and missed the president. A White House official said that Biden’s appearance had only been tentative when she made her plans and the addition to the schedule happened late in the day.

People familiar with the matter told West Wing Playbook that her absence was part of a larger pattern that has frustrated some in the White House. After spending her initial months on the job working remotely, Lance Bottoms now usually flies home to Atlanta every Thursday rather than working at the White House through the week. She has also told OPE job applicants that she plans to leave her position after the midterms, raising questions about the future of the office.

A White House official said that both Lance Bottoms’ travel schedule and her likely departure were part of her arrangement when the White House convinced her to join in June. Biden has long pushed his staff to prioritize family obligations, and the official said Lance Bottoms flies back on Thursdays to attend her son’s football games. The official also noted that Lance Bottoms pays for her lodging and travel, and works remotely on Fridays.

CEDRIC RICHMOND , the former Louisiana congressman who headed OPE before Lance Bottoms, dismissed the drama to West Wing Playbook. “I think a lot of this is just the same bullshit reporting that the vice president went through as a Black female. I flew home every weekend for a whole year, and nobody said shit.”

Richmond added that when Lance Bottoms came on board, “everyone knew that she was signing up for a temporary assignment,” but that “everyone was hopeful that she would stay.”

Lance Bottoms has other supporters inside the building as well, including among people who weren’t authorized to speak with West Wing Playbook. But the internal grumbling reflects some larger questions about the office and its role in the Biden White House.

During the Obama administration, OPE was one of the most powerful offices as it was led by the president’s close confidante, VALERIE JARRETT, who stayed all eight years.

Some Obama veterans and people inside the White House expected the same when Richmond left his safe House seat to head up the office, even though the structure and portfolio had changed since the Obama administration.

In March 2022, The New York Times reported on discussions to move Richmond to the Democratic National Committee. His departure became public on April 25 and the White House struggled to fill the spot, contributing to significant turnover in the office.

Lance Bottoms, who was a critical surrogate for Biden during the contentious primary campaign and remains close to the president, initially turned down the post. The White House eventually changed her mind and announced her hiring on June 15.

She has since embarked on a restructuring of the office and filling empty posts, although people have been frustrated at the pace of it. Some White House officials credit her with taking on more management of the team and putting together “Communities in Action” events, like the one last Thursday with Pennsylvania leaders.

She has her fans internally and externally. The White House encouraged us to reach out to AL SHARPTON, who said that “she has been more responsive and on it than anyone in that office I’ve worked with.” The White House also sent a statement from STEVE RICCHETTI, the president’s counselor, praising Lance Bottoms for hitting “the ground running here at OPE” and noting she’s “been with us from the beginning.”

And there is a feeling among her defenders that she's being blamed for her predecessor's weaknesses. When she started, Lance Bottoms also expressed private frustration that there wasn’t a comprehensive org-chart in place from Richmond’s tenure.

Asked if he had any response to that assessment, Richmond said simply: “No, I don’t.”

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This one is from reader JUDITH BARNETT. In honor of the spooky season: Which first lady began holding seances in the White House, some of which were even attended by the president?

(Answer at the bottom.)

FRENEMIES?: Biden and Florida Gov. RON DESANTIS put the political beef aside Wednesday, as the president paid a visit to the state to assess the damage from Hurricane Ian, our KELLY HOOPER and OLIVIA OLANDER report. The two praised each other during a press conference, with DeSantis thanking the White House for a quick federal disaster declaration, and Biden saying the governor had done a “good job” handling the storm.

The president later provided a somewhat backhanded compliment to DeSantis : "What the governor has done is pretty remarkable so far. ... The biggest thing the governor has done ... [is] recognized there's this thing called global warming."

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden tour an area impacted by Hurricane Ian with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his wife Casey DeSantis. | Evan Vucci/AP Photo

THE F-WORD HEARD ROUND THE WORLD: The president was also heard on a hot mic saying “no one fucks with a Biden,” in conversation with Fort Myers Beach Mayor RAY MURPHY. (For those who don’t know about Biden’s potty mouth, cue our West Wing Playbook edition from last year on his love of some 4-letter words behind the scenes).

OPEC MINUS : The organization of major oil producers led by Saudi Arabia and Russia on Wednesday announced it would cut oil production by 2 million barrels per day, a move expected to raise global energy prices even higher. Beyond the financial challenges for millions of Americans and Europeans sure to see the impact at the pump and in heating bills this winter, the decision by OPEC+ bodes poorly for Biden and Democrats as they seek to retain control of the Senate and the House in next month’s midterm elections.

The White House had lobbied hard for OPEC+ to maintain production, dispatching everyone from AMOS HOCHSTEIN at the State Department to Treasury Secretary JANET YELLEN, as CNN reported yesterday.

In response to Wednesday’s move, the White House immediately released a scathing letter suggesting the U.S. would “consult with Congress on additional tools and authorities to reduce OPEC+'s control over energy prices.” Press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE was more blunt, telling reporters aboard Air Force One that the move meant that the body was aligned with Russia against the U.S.

MIDTERMS OUTLOOK: Democrats have no room to lose Senate seats in next month’s elections, and AP’s STEVE PEOPLES reports that White House officials are worried about a few key races.

He reports that some administration officials are concerned about the health of Pennsylvania Senate candidate JOHN FETTERMAN, after the Democrat suffered a stroke in May. Officials are also worried about the likelihood of Democratic Sen. CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO losing her reelection bid in Nevada — a loss that could potentially hand Republicans control of the Senate.

PERSONNEL MOVES: MONICA GORMAN has taken over LIZ REYNOLDS ’ role at the National Economic Council and is now the special assistant to the president for manufacturing and industrial policy. Her transition follows 18 months as deputy assistant secretary of manufacturing at Commerce.

MAY THE FATTEST BEAR WIN: It’s Fat Bear Week, a time when government agencies aim to raise awareness about wildlife conservation and celebrate some of the largest brown bears on Earth, which can be found in Alaska’s Katmai National Park. There is even a bracket-style competition between the fat bears of Katmai. You can see your bear candidates here and vote for your favorite one. West Wing Playbook officially endorses bear 747. Make it happen.

MORE FOR LA ISLA DEL ENCANTO: Though Biden has vowed support to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Fiona, and paid a visit to the island Monday to demonstrate the administration’s commitment, residents want more than a temporary fix, our GLORIA GONZALEZ reports.

Residents of the island are looking for a greater commitment from the federal government. They want reliable electricity, a functioning health care system and long-promised recovery aid from their 2017 hurricane disaster. More from Gloria here.

FAILURE TO LAUNCH: The Biden administration planned to revive a version of Operation Warp Speed to help get ahead of the next coronavirus variant, but lack of funding and fading political interest in the pandemic has stifled the effort, our ADAM CANRYN and ERIN BANCO report.

The project’s delay has caused some worry within the White House over Americans’ vulnerability to future variants, especially after the U.S. has been trailing China in the global pursuit of new scientific breakthroughs to curb Covid.

ABOUT THAT STUDENT DEBT RELIEF … Now that the details of Biden’s student debt relief plan are out, the administration is preparing to process millions of applications for loan forgiveness. The government has until Jan. 1, 2023, when student loan payments are set to resume after being paused through the pandemic, to get it all sorted out, WSJ’s ANDREW RESTUCCIA and GABRIEL T. RUBIN report.

VP was in car accident; Secret Service first called it ‘mechanical failure’ (WaPo's Carol D. Leonnig)

Biden is actually Greek. And Jewish. And raised by Puerto Ricans. (WaPo’s Matt Viser)

Can Biden save democracy one US factory job at a time? (AP’s Josh Boak)

U.S. Believes Ukraine Was Behind an Assassination in Russia (NYT’s Julian E. Barnes, Adam Goldman, Adam Entous and Michael Schwirtz)

Energy Secretary JENNIFER GRANHOLM believes in a mix of working hard and playing hard.

When asked about a picture of her holding martini glasses with Sen. LISA MURKOWSKI (R-Alaska) on “The Late Show with STEPHEN COLBERT,” Granholm explained that during her visit to the state Murkowski gave her a tour of an ice museum where the two shared a drink at the bar inside.

Screenshot from The Late Show with Stephen Colbert | YouTube

“We’re drinking appletinis out of ice glasses,” she said.

But Granholm reassured Colbert that the pair were also “at a geothermal hot spring — so there was an energy component to this piece of the trip, too.”

Thanks for the invite!

MARY TODD LINCOLN held seances in the Red Room of the White House, according to the White House Historical Association. The association notes that “there is evidence to suggest that she hosted as many as eight seances in the White House and that her husband was even in attendance for a few of them.

“The seances proved to be such an effective coping mechanism for Mrs. Lincoln that she once remarked to her half-sister that [her deceased son], ‘Willie lives. He comes to me every night and stands at the foot of the bed with the same sweet adorable smile that he always has had. He does not always come alone. Little Eddie [her son that perished at the age of four] is sometimes with him.’”

A CALL OUT — Do you think you have a harder trivia question? Send us your best one about the presidents with a citation and we may feature it.

Edited by Eun Kyung Kim and Paul Demko.

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