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 Democratic midterm candidates aren’t showing JOE BIDEN much love. But one progressive pol predicted to win his House race next month isn’t shying away from the president. Instead, he’s leaning hard into his close White House ties — and publicly urging Biden to seek reelection in 2024. ROBERT GARCIA , mayor of Long Beach, Calif., and — quite likely — an incoming member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, is a new kind of surrogate for the Biden-Harris White House. Garcia, 44 and an immigrant from Peru, describes Biden as the “most progressive president of the modern era” and says, without hesitation, “I hope he runs again.” He also has been offering himself as a liberal footsoldier on cable TV’s airwaves, where he’s gearing up to do verbal combat with some of Biden’s biggest, loudest MAGA tormentors. The stance he’s adopted makes him a unicorn of sorts among young Democrats. It’s also a tactic that breaks with the White House’s more buttoned-up approach towards political combat — though it’s one Biden officials welcome. “We have to fight back and continue to call out their bullshit,” Garcia told West Wing Playbook. “We’re allowing folks like MARJORIE TAYLOR GREEN, MATT GAETZ and LAUREN BOEBERT to control a narrative and define what America is about. But their worldview is exactly the opposite of what this country is about. We can’t allow patriotism to be warped by America First, far-right extremists who promote hate. So for those of us who are immigrants — and who fought for citizenship — we know what the true America is about and what loving your country really means.” Over beers recently in Washington (WWPB nursed a Bud Lite and he had an IPA), Garcia didn’t just profess support for the president. He also argued it’s past time for Biden and Democrats to take up changes to immigration policy; he touted his work in Long Beach for guaranteed income and raising the minimum wage, his refusal to accept corporate PAC money, and his support from the likes of Rep. KATIE PORTER, who represents a neighboring district. Garcia’s path to Biden world wasn’t direct. He was among KAMALA HARRIS’ earliest supporters during her presidential run. When she dropped out, Garcia showed little hesitation in getting behind Biden and then hitting the trail for him in Iowa and Nevada, according to people close to the president’s campaign. “He wasn’t looking to cut deals or create opportunities for himself,” one of those people told West Wing Playbook. When senior Biden adviser ANITA DUNN and top Democratic National Convention organizers STEPHANIE CUTTER and ADDISU DEMISSIE brainstormed emerging talent from the party to fill a keynote speaking slot, “his was one of the first names that came up,” Demissie recalled. “It was not a hard decision for anyone.” Garcia joined a collage of rising stars, including two others from the LGBTQ community, to be featured in the slot. His convention remarks came at a particularly difficult time in his life. He had lost his mother and stepfather to Covid within days of each other while trying to steer his city through the health crisis. Since then, Garcia has become a regular at White House events, working with Biden administration officials on some of their toughest problems. Garcia and his Port of Long Beach — where the backlog of idling ships has dropped from a high of about 110 to six or seven — had a starring role in the administration’s efforts to untangle the supply chain. He was on the phone frequently with Harris and worked closely with Transportation Secretary PETE BUTTIGIEG. Garcia similarly heard from White House senior adviser JULIE CHÁVEZ RODRÍGUEZ, who heads the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, and Health and Human Services Secretary XAVIER BECERRA, as they searched for places last spring to house an influx of unaccompanied minors at the southwest border. They worked out a temporary agreement to create space at the Long Beach Convention Center, which Garcia called a “model” for sheltering, and then helped unify many of the children with their families. How he will fit into a Washington D.C. that seems likely to have one, if not two, chambers of Congress run by Republicans remains to be seen. But he has a proclivity for going hard at Republicans on topics where Democrats, including some inside the White House, don’t always show comfort. He said he was especially piqued by Republican Govs. RON DESANTIS of Florida and GREG ABBOTT of Texas for sending migrants into blue state enclaves. “The Biden-Harris administration has forcefully defended immigrants and condemned [the governors’] actions,” he said, “but you also need to have people who were immigrants, who gained citizenship, at the frontline of the fight.” One possible role for Garcia may be as a thorn in the side of his fellow Californian KEVIN MCCARTHY, the Republican leader projected to be the next House speaker. “He’s someone that should never be Speaker,” Garcia said flatly. “He can’t control his own caucus — especially the extreme forces in it — and he would be a disaster for the country.” MESSAGE US — Are you MATT GROUM , associate director for candidate recruitment? We want to hear from you! And we’ll keep you anonymous! Email us at westwingtips@politico.com .
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