|
Presented by GE: The power players, latest policy developments, and intriguing whispers percolating inside the West Wing. | | | | |  | | By Lauren Egan | Presented by GE | 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 Eli | Email Lauren CHARLESTON, S.C. — South Carolina might have cinched its spot as the first presidential nominating state in the 2024 Democratic primary. But the real prize will be maintaining that status in 2028. It won’t be easy. President JOE BIDEN will either be term-limited or out of office by then and won’t have the same sway in shaping the party calendar as he did when he elevated South Carolina in the 2024 lineup. The Democratic National Committee has also made it clear that it will reconsider the calendar after this cycle. So when the committee votes in 2027 on the next primary schedule, South Carolina will have to defend its No. 1 spot without its No. 1 backer. “The DNC has made it very clear that they’re going to evaluate the calendar every four years. I don’t think there’s been any ambiguity about that,” said TRAV ROBERTSON, who is stepping down next month as the chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party after six years. South Carolina’s first time leading off the primary calendar in 2024 will be during a presidential cycle in which Biden is expected to coast to the nomination. State party leaders admit they wouldn’t have had the same influence on the nominating process during an open primary. And the South Carolina economy as a whole won’t be juiced by the millions of dollars that candidates, political parties, outside organizations and media companies spend in the first-in-the-nation state during competitive nomination contests. South Carolina Democrats say they already feel pressure to maintain their No. 1 spot in 2028. The smallest mistakes could jeopardize the party’s position, and leaders are fretting over making sure that everything in 2024 — from the vote counting process (there are nightmares about a 2020 Iowa caucus repeat) to the party’s get-out-the-vote operations — runs smoothly. The conversation about how to solidify South Carolina’s first-in-the-nation status has also largely defined the race to replace Robertson as party chair, which will be decided on April 29 at a state party convention. “It's vitally important to maintain our first position,” said BRANDON UPSON, the chair of the state party’s Black Caucus who is running for party chair. He called the 2024 primary critical. “We have to put our best foot forward as a state.” CHRISTALE SPAIN, another candidate for party chair, said the party needs to “maximize this moment when it comes to growing our resources.” “Our first-in-the-nation status is an opportunity to engage South Carolina Democrats early, and educate them about elections up and down the ballot,” said Spain, the former executive director for the state party. South Carolina Democrats said they anticipate aggressive campaigns from other early voting states to bump them from their first-in-the-nation position in 2028. While the DNC won’t vote on the 2028 calendar for another four years, South Carolina Democrats are already quick to point out that if the party wants to continue to elevate Black voters in the nominating process, the Columbia media market is much cheaper compared to Atlanta. “Candidates running need to be able to afford to get their message out,” said Upson, adding that South Carolina needed to make its case for going first “bigger than just Joe Biden.” “We’re going to make people proud in 2024 and we’re going to win people over,” he said. MESSAGE US — Are you TROY PRICE, executive director of the New Hampshire Democratic Party? We want to hear from you. And we’ll keep you anonymous! Email us at westwingtips@politico.com. Did someone forward this email to you? Subscribe here!
| | | | A message from GE: Rising geopolitical threats require next-generation capabilities for U.S. warfighters. Congress should continue its historic, bipartisan support for advanced fighter engine programs to ensure U.S. air superiority. Nearly 50 bipartisan Members of Congress recently wrote in support of advanced engine programs because they recognize these needs, in addition to the role competition can play in reducing past cost overruns. Learn more. | | | | | | With help from the White House Historical Association Tis the season! Which first lady opened the very first annual Cherry Blossom Festival? (Answer at bottom.)
| | | | 
| SIMON SAYS… A LOT OF THINGS TO DISRUPT THE BRIEFING: Things got heated during Monday’s White House press briefing, before and after press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE brought out the cast of Apple TV’s “Ted Lasso.” SIMON ATEBA, the correspondent for the website Today News Africa, complained to Jean-Pierre that he hadn’t been called on to ask a question in seven months, accused her of “discriminating” against some people in the briefing room, and said she was “making a mockery of the First Amendment.” Numerous White House correspondents tried to get Ateba to stop, shouting over him with appeals for “decorum” and imploring him to bring up his grievances with Jean-Pierre privately. It was quite a scene, even for Ateba, who, as West Wing Playbook wrote about in December, has a tendency to derail briefings. After the “Ted Lasso” cast left the room, Jean-Pierre called the whole episode “unacceptable” and said she wouldn’t tolerate anyone “disrespecting your colleagues and disrespecting guests.” White House Correspondents Association president TAMARA KEITH also sent an email to members following the briefing about the “extreme breakdown of decorum,” adding the situation “created a hostile work environment for everyone in that room.” A VETO ON ESG AND A JAB AT MTG: Biden issued his first veto of his presidency on Monday — and took on House Republicans in the process. The president blocked a repeal of a rule that permitted retirement plan managers to incorporate environmental and social factors into their investment decisions, our ELEANOR MUELLER reports. In a video posted to Twitter, the president said the bill would have jeopardized retirement savings by “making it illegal to consider risk factors MAGA House Republicans don't like. Your plan manager should be able to protect your hard-earned savings — whether Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene likes it or not.” Biden may have put the spotlight on House Republicans. But Sen. JOE MANCHIN (D-W.Va.) ripped him for the veto, too. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: This WaPo opinion piece by E.J. DIONNE JR. about how comparing Biden to FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT and, now, BILL CLINTON isn’t exactly fair or accurate. “Opinion among Democrats and the public has shifted leftward on many issues,” Dionne writes. “Biden’s approach reflects these shifts no less today than at the beginning of his term. While he is especially animated when talking about economics and lifting the fortunes of the working class, he has not been shy about addressing matters at the heart of the GOP’s culture wars.” White House deputy press secretary ANDREW BATES tweeted out the piece Monday. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: This take by New York Magazine’s JONATHAN CHAIT about how the “mutual assumption that Biden would support the progressive policy agenda, and that progressives would in turn withhold criticism from him, appears to be coming apart.” Chait attributes the fracture to a few things, including bringing on JEFF ZIENTS as White House chief of staff, Democrats’ big wins in the 2022 midterms and the current economic conditions. ANXIETY IS HIGH: When Biden spoke to Israeli Prime Minister BENJAMIN NETANYAHU by phone Sunday, the president said “he was concerned about the Israeli government's judicial overhaul plan because in all the years he has followed Israel, he has never seen such a high level of domestic anxiety over the political situation in the country,” Axios’s BARAK RAVID reports. ON HARRIS’S AGENDA: Vice President KAMALA HARRIS is set “to visit urban centers of swing states to persuade Black voters, young people and other liberal constituencies.” It is part of an effort to boost Biden’s yet-to-be-announced reelection campaign, amidst doubts regarding her political future, WSJ’s TARINI PARTI reports.
| | | | LISTEN TO POLITICO'S ENERGY PODCAST: Check out our daily five-minute brief on the latest energy and environmental politics and policy news. Don't miss out on the must-know stories, candid insights, and analysis from POLITICO's energy team. Listen today. | | | | | | | | F-B-I DON’T THINK THIS IS GOOD: Our JOSH GERSTEIN and KYLE CHENEY provide insight into what the atmosphere is like in the FBI’s general counsel’s office after a gender discrimination trial against the office “shined a harsh spotlight, portraying it as a hotbed of dysfunction, turf wars, mismanagement and paranoia.” DEBUT DONE: Former White House press secretary JEN PSAKI’s MSNBC show, “Inside with Jen Psaki,” debuted Sunday, featuring prominent Democrats including House Minority Leader HAKEEM JEFFRIES, Michigan Gov. GRETCHEN WHITMER and New York City Mayor ERIC ADAMS. She promised future interviews would be with people she “may agree with, and some I may not.” But Deadline’s TED JOHNSON wonders “how far that disagreement goes — whether that means moments when she speak(s) out against a White House action, or if the show is able to book Republican guests and fervent Biden administration critics.”
| | | | A message from GE:   | | | | | | WANNA BE JUDGE BEING JUDGED: MICHAEL DELANEY, Biden’s federal appeals court nominee, is facing criticism from Democrats over his signature on a legal brief that defended New Hampshire’s now-repealed parental notification law requiring women under 18 to tell parents of an abortion, AP’s SEUNG MIN KIM reports. Delaney said he had “extremely limited involvement” in handling the legal case. NOMINEES ON NOMINEES: The president announced nominees to various positions Monday including NISHA DESAI BISWAL to serve as the deputy chief executive officer of the United States International Development Finance Corporation, JAMES BLANCHARD to serve as a member of the United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy and FARA DAMELIN to serve as the Inspector General of the Federal Communications Commission, among others.
| | | MORE MONEY OTW: The Biden administration announced another wave of security assistance for Ukraine, providing an additional $350 million toward “more ammunition for U.S.-provided HIMARS and howitzers that Ukraine is using to defend itself, as well as ammunition for Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, HARM missiles, anti-tank weapons, riverine boats, and other equipment,” Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN said. CNN’s NATASHA BERTRAND has more details. NEW OFFICE INCOMING: The Department of Health and Human Services is establishing an office focused on preventing domestic violence and assisting victims, called the Office of Family Violence Prevention and Services, our BEN LEONARD reports for Pro s. COVID ORIGIN: Biden on Monday signed legislation declassifying intelligence related to potential links between China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology and Covid-19. “In implementing this legislation, my Administration will declassify and share as much of that information as possible, consistent with my constitutional authority to protect against the disclosure of information that would harm national security,” Biden said in a written statement.
| | | | DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO MOBILE APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS– DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID. | | | | | | | | White House to counter GOP's soft-on-crime attacks by targeting far-right budget plan (NBC News’ Carol E. Lee) Earth to Hit Critical Warming Threshold by Early 2030s, Climate Panel Says (NYT’s Brad Plumer) US: War crimes on all sides in Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict (AP’s Matthew Lee)
| | | We mentioned COLIN KAHL’s DJing side hustle, but the undersecretary for defense policy also releases a roundup of his favorite albums of the year. Not included on his list of 2022 top albums — raggaeton rapper BAD BUNNY’s “Un Verano Sin Ti.” The choice became a hot topic amongst his colleagues. “There’s not really a good excuse other than the fact that my musical tastes go very deep in certain areas, indie music and electronic music and some slices of pop music,” he explained on the “Early Bird Brief” podcast. “But my knowledge and exposure to Latin music is just not particularly high.”
| | | In 1934, the District of Columbia Commissioners hosted the first annual Cherry Blossom Festival. First lady ELEANOR ROOSEVELT opened the three-day event with a 6:00 a.m. sunrise ceremony. 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 Sam Stein.
| | | | A message from GE: In the face of rising geopolitical threats, GE’s XA100 is the only adaptive cycle engine to have concluded military testing and is ready to revolutionize the U.S.’ much-needed capabilities for the F-35, including 30% more range and 20% more acceleration. We urge Congress to support competition and continue investing in revolutionary technologies such as those developed under the Adaptive Engine Transition Program (AETP) to help ensure U.S. warfighters have the edge they need. GE Aerospace is ready to power U.S. warfighters today and in the future. Learn more. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
