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The power players, latest policy developments, and intriguing whispers percolating inside the West Wing. | | | | |  | | By Eli Stokols and Lauren Egan | 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 If there was ever a news cycle engineered in a lab to animate younger voters — and harden their antipathy toward Republicans — it probably would look like the one we’re living in now. The capper was a Texas judge’s ruling Friday threatening nationwide access to the abortion pill that’s been available for more than two decades. That occurred less than 24 hours after Republicans in the Tennessee statehouse expelled two Black lawmakers for leading a protest over the state’s inaction on gun safety, following a shooting at a Nashville school that left six dead. Those events almost obscured the historic arrest of former President DONALD TRUMP just days earlier. And if the issue of gun safety had been fading from the headlines, another gunman opened fire Monday inside a Louisville, Ky., bank, leaving at least four people dead. After a liberal candidate for a pivotal seat on Wisconsin’s Supreme Court won a special election last week by 11 points, former Gov. SCOTT WALKER acknowledged the biggest reason for the surprisingly decisive result. “Younger voters are the issue,” Walker said. He attributed the increasing leftward lean of voters under 35 to “years of liberal indoctrination.” But the actual data tells a different story, one that requires Republicans to admit that their party’s stance on the issues that matter most to millennials and the subsequent Gen Z — including abortion, which was by far the biggest issue in the Wisconsin special election — is hurting them with voters under 35. “Abortion is an issue that affects young women in particular,” said TEDDY LANDIS, a youth organizer with Project 72 Wisconsin, a progressive initiative set up to organize college voters ahead of last week’s election. “But also for the folks on college campuses right now, here and across the country, every election we have been conscious [of] has been ‘the most important election of our lives.’ College students know that whenever there is an election they are supposed to vote.” On the 15 college campuses Project 72 canvassed over the last few months, turnout was far higher than the overall participation rate statewide. At University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Tuesday’s turnout was 91 percent what it was in last November’s midterm election, with students waiting in long lines to vote. And at UW-Green Bay, historically the state’s most conservative campus, turnout was at 78 percent of the November 2022 vote with 85 percent of those casting ballots supporting JANET PROTASIEWICZ, the progressive candidate. What’s been especially determinative is not just that current college students are voting, but that the prior generation of college students remains as Democratic-leaning as they were during their school years. Millennials and Gen Z now account for almost 40 percent of the country’s electorate. And their growing political importance — alongside their hardened progressive tendencies — goes a long way toward explaining why Democrats exceeded expectations in last year’s midterm elections and other contested races. “The challenge that Republicans have is that their current MAGA values are misaligned, to put it lightly, with the values that these two generations hold,” said JOHN DELLA VOLPE, who has spent 20 years surveying millennials and Gen Z and advised President JOE BIDEN’s 2020 campaign on its outreach to younger voters. “What we're talking about is the impact of two generations with similar values who feel the urgency in America to change things, and that’s an incredibly powerful voting bloc.”
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A recent survey found a majority of millennials and Gen Z voters aren't likely to vote for a 2024 presidential candidate who has different views than them on issues like abortion and gun safety. | Social Sphere April 2023 survey | According to Della Volpe’s latest survey of 2000 registered voters, which he shared exclusively with West Wing Playbook ahead of Tuesday’s publication of his book’s paperback edition, a strong majority of millennials and Gen Z voters are unlikely to vote for a 2024 presidential candidate who holds different views than them on abortion, gun safety, climate, systemic racism and the events of Jan. 6, 2021. Of the Gen Z voters who took part in the survey, only 22 percent self-identified as conservative (9 percent) or conservative-leaning (13 percent). More than twice that many, 46 percent, identified as progressive (26 percent) or progressive-leaning (20 percent). These two generations that came of age after 9/11, and through years marked by recession, mass shootings, climate catastrophes and pitched debates about economic inequality and systemic racism, are far more progressive than their Gen X counterparts who grew up in the Reagan era. “We need to get our head around who the suburban voter is today. Suburban voters are millennials who have homes, careers, families,” said Della Volpe, who remains in frequent contact with several senior White House officials. Although Biden, at 80, might not be this generation’s dream president, he has delivered on a number of its priorities – and is likely to be running against a Republican nominee who helps him clarify the choice for these voters. “This is so much about a choice, and the choice between Biden and Republicans couldn’t be more stark,” said VICTOR SHI, a UCLA student organizer who was the youngest DNC delegate for Biden in 2020. “This is all about issues now. On every issue young people care about, Republicans just aren’t giving us what we want and they’re not listening.” MESSAGE US — Are you SCOTT WALKER? 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!
| | | | GO INSIDE THE 2023 MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE: POLITICO is proud to partner with the Milken Institute to produce a special edition "Global Insider" newsletter featuring exclusive coverage, insider nuggets and unparalleled insights from the 2023 Global Conference, which will convene leaders in health, finance, politics, philanthropy and entertainment from April 30-May 3. This year’s theme, Advancing a Thriving World, will challenge and inspire attendees to lean into building an optimistic coalition capable of tackling the issues and inequities we collectively face. Don’t miss a thing — subscribe today for a front row seat. | | | | | | | | | With help from the White House Historical Association Which president allowed young egg rollers, during the White House Easter Egg Roll, to gather in the East Room to meet him? (Answer at bottom.)
| | AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN… Four people were killed and eight were injured in a mass shooting Monday at a bank in Louisville, Ky., marking the 146th mass shooting already this year. The president issued a statement, urging Congress to act: “How many more Americans must die before Republicans in Congress will act to protect our communities?” GOOD TRY, AL: Interviewing the president and first lady on the South Lawn Monday morning ahead of the White House Easter Egg Roll, TODAY co-host AL ROKER became the latest media member to attempt to get Biden to commit firmly to running for reelection. After a soft first attempt, asking him how many more Easter Egg Rolls he planned to preside over, Roker turned more blunt: “Help a brother out, make some news for me!” Biden demurred. “I’m planning on running, Al, but we’re not ready to announce it yet.” Our MYAH WARD has the details. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: Anything about the annual Easter Egg Roll, and the highly anticipated new Easter Bunny mascot. Said bunny even came out to wave hello at the press briefing (though when asked about Trump’s indictment, they didn’t answer and silently hand gestured kisses to the press corps.)
|  The Easter Bunny makes an appearance at the daily press briefing at the White House. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images | WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: Any story about those leaked Pentagon documents. “Senior U.S. officials are racing to placate frustrated and confused allies from Europe to the Middle East to Kyiv following the leak of highly classified information about the war in Ukraine and other global issues,” our ERIN BANCO and ALEXANDER WARD report. “Officials in London, Brussels, Berlin, Dubai and Kyiv questioned Washington about how the information ended up online, who was responsible for the leak and what the U.S. was doing to ensure the information was removed from social media.” GETTING TO KNOW BIDEN’S IRISH RELATIVES: CNN’s DONIE O'SULLIVAN spoke to some of Biden’s Irish relatives ahead of his trip. EMILY and LAUREN BLEWITT (Biden is their grandfather’s third cousin) remembered the first time they met him. “He was just eating our chips, when fancy meals came out he just wanted the chips and chicken nuggets,” Lauren said. Watch the full clip here. BIG POETRY GUY: During Biden’s trip to Ireland, he may throw in a quote from Irish poets SEAMUS HEANEY or WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS in public remarks, AP’s HILLEL ITALIE reports. The two poets “are the major wells [Biden] goes to when he needs the perfect words to encapsulate a feeling,” DAN CLUCHEY, a former speechwriter for Biden, told the AP. GROOOOOAAAANNN: There was a lot of grumbling among the press corps after White House press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE said Monday that Biden would not hold a news conference during his trip to Ireland (the lack of presidential pressers has been an ongoing source of frustration). Jean-Pierre defended the president’s willingness to engage with reporters, claiming it was “unprecedented that a president takes as many shouted questions as this president has.” We’ll need to fact check that one.
| | ONLINE GUY MAKES IT BIG: ROB FLAHERTY has been promoted to assistant to the president. He most recently was deputy assistant to the president and continues in his role as director of the Office of Digital Strategy. It’s the first time the director of ODS will have the same designation as White House comms director and the press secretary. Axios’ SOPHIA CAI scooped the promotion Sunday in this piece detailing Flaherty’s new initiative to mobilize hundreds of social media influencers in service of Biden’s likely reelection campaign next year. BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE: RYAN ZAMARRIPA is now a management and program analyst at the U.S. Economic Development Administration, our DANIEL LIPPMAN has learned. He most recently was a senior professional staffer for the House Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth. — DAVID WERTIME is now senior policy adviser in the Office of Investment Security at the Treasury Department. He most recently was senior adviser in Treasury’s Office of International Financial Markets. — DANIEL E. WHITE is now deputy chief of staff for the secretary of the Army. He most recently was chief of staff to the assistant secretary for manpower and reserve affairs of the Army. BRAINARD’S BUMPY ROAD: LAEL BRAINARD, Biden’s new director for the National Economic Council, brings nearly a decade of experience on the Federal Reserve Board with her. But our BEN WHITE reports that her time on the Fed is drawing doubts from some, as the administration digs into the central bank’s role in the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. “All of the failure of supervision stuff for the last six to nine months implicates the Fed,” one White House ally told White. “There is just no way that can’t be awkward both for Lael and for the White House.” CARDONA TAKES ON DESANTIS: Secretary of Education MIGUEL CARDONA continues to call out Florida Gov. RON DESANTIS and other GOP officeholders who have sought to restrict LGBTQ student participation in school sports and to control what’s taught in the classroom. In a lengthy interview with Talking Points Memo’s HUNTER WALKER, Cardona asserted that eliminating lessons about slavery, civil rights or books by non-white authors is “a way to maintain division and an effort to make our public schools look weak.”
| | SERIOUSLY, THIS POSITION IS KINDA IMPORTANT: The White House is still scrambling to find another nominee to lead the Federal Aviation Administration ahead of the busy summer travel season, our ALEX DAUGHERTY reports. PHIL WASHINGTON, Biden’s nominee to lead the Federal Aviation Administration, withdrew his name for consideration in March, and some lawmakers have suggested promoting BILLY NOLEN, the acting FAA administrator, though the White House’s plans are still — pardon the pun — up in the air. MILL AND NED’S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE: MATTHEW MILLER, a former special adviser to the National Security Council, is a contender to serve as the spokesperson for the State Department, Daniel Lippman reports. Miller would replace NED PRICE, who left the position to move into a policy-focused role at the State Department.
| | WADING INTO ROUGH WATERS: The Biden administration is tiptoeing into a politically fraught fight between Arizona and California — two states crucial to Democrats’ 2024 electoral hopes. The Department of Interior is expected Tuesday to release its initial plan for “how to divvy up major cuts in water deliveries from the Colorado River in order to head off a major water and power crisis,” our ANNIE SNIDER writes for Pro s. While deep blue California “holds the largest and strongest legal rights to the river's water” that supplies its booming agriculture industry and its southern cities, Arizona, a critical presidential swing state, “could be almost entirely cut off from Colorado River supplies under the current legal regime.” IT’S OFFICIAL: The State Department on Monday designated WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich as “wrongfully detained” in Russia. That moved his case to the department’s Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, which will work to negotiate his release, WSJ’s VIVIAN SALAMA reports.
| | Biden Must Tread Rocky Path in Belfast Before Tending His Irish Roots (NYT’s Mark Landler) The Cold War Mystery The U.S. Military Can’t Afford to Forget (Gordon F. Sander for POLITICO Magazine) Two friends were denied care after Florida banned abortion. One almost died. (WaPo’s Caroline Kitchener)
| | | | 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. | | | | | | | | | Energy Secretary JENNIFER GRANHOLM’s advice for anyone looking to get into beauty pageantry? “It’s mortifying, don’t ever do it,” she told WNYC Studios in October 2018. “Get rid of them all!” Granholm took home the title of Miss San Carlos in 1977, back when she lived in California and before getting into politics. But despite the win, she is not a fan of the pageant world. “It’s really not a part of my life I’m proud of, I’m actually totally grossed out by it personally,” she said. “I understand that in some areas of the country this is where some women find their identity and I don’t want to disparage anybody who makes other choices. But for me, it was horrible.”
| | President GROVER CLEVELAND allowed young egg rollers free reign of the White House and grounds during the Easter Egg Roll. On Easter Monday in 1885, after the visitors left, the East Room carpet was reportedly covered in broken eggshells. 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. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
