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 Eli For the last several months, West Wing aides have quietly prepared for the next big transition point: the exodus of aides and Cabinet members that typically follows the midterms. And inside the West Wing, staffers are increasingly focused on one name in particular: RON KLAIN. Whether the chief of staff stays or goes is, perhaps, the most consequential White House staffing decision that will be made over the next two years. We explored the discussions and thinking behind it in an in-depth, just published piece, which we are excerpting below: Several departures are expected to be announced after the midterms, although aides also envision many in the senior ranks to stay… But there is growing concern among many of Klain’s loyal devotees that his own run in the job — already the longest ever for a Democratic president’s first chief of staff — could soon be coming to an end. "People want him to stay, but staying for years in that job is almost inhumane,” said JEN PSAKI, Biden’s first press secretary who left the post in May…. …. Those who have filled the role recognize that the job, especially the way Klain approaches it, may not be sustainable. "I can't imagine having a more stressful, more time-consuming job than the one that Ron has today,” said ERSKINE BOWLES, who served as President BILL CLINTON’s deputy chief of staff before departing the White House — only to return six months later for an 18-month run as chief of staff… Klain, known around Washington for his dedicated tweeting, continues to hold JOE BIDEN ’s trust, several administration officials said. Inside the West Wing, there is a contingent of Klain fans and loyalists who see him as a generous, responsive and capable boss, eager to offer advice and counsel on policy, politics and messaging. "I could spend 10 min with Ron and be ready to do the briefing,” Psaki said. “He's so ingrained in every aspect of the place. He's also a driver of moving things forward. Whenever he leaves, it will be a huge loss.” There's no question that this president, who will turn 80 this month, relies heavily on Klain and the other senior advisors who've been with him for years. Three administration officials, who asked for anonymity to relay closely-held private conversations, intimated that Biden himself has urged Klain to stay. Part of the thinking is that Klain is uniquely well-suited for an era of more intense partisan combat, should Republicans regain the House or the Senate. Beyond that, there is concern about whether his potential replacements – [JEFF] ZEINTS is rumored to be among them – could match his political experience. Some people close to Klain, who declined an interview request, are worried about his health and stamina given his around-the-clock approach to the job. He is often up at 3:30 a.m. checking – and tweeting about – gas prices, and still up at 10 p.m. doing occasional MSNBC hits from the North Lawn. He is a voracious emailer, sending notes at all hours, sometimes writing in all caps. He has also made time in recent months for weekly happy hours on his office patio with senior- and junior-level staffers. But across the broader administration and on Capitol Hill, some officials and lawmakers working with the White House are privately eager for a change. Over the last two years, some have come to view Klain as a micromanager and grown frustrated with his certainty about his own political instincts as Biden’s approval rating has languished around the 40 percent mark. More than a dozen administration and congressional officials who spoke to POLITICO on the condition of anonymity described a chief of staff intent on managing the flow of information to the president and keeping a tight grip on power, advising everyone on everything and being involved in even the smallest policy and planning details. Whenever Biden is set to deliver a speech, one official explained, "Ron often has to see the [camera] shot beforehand.” READ THE FULL PIECE HERE. MESSAGE US — Are you someone who has received an ALL CAPS email from RON KLAIN? We want to hear from you! And we’ll keep you anonymous. Email us at westwingtips@politico.com .
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