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Presented by GE: The power players, latest policy developments, and intriguing whispers percolating inside the West Wing. | | | | |  | | By Eli Stokols and 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 President JOE BIDEN’s trip to Ireland last week, which conservatives criticized as a “family vacation,” was heavy on vibes and imagery but somewhat light on substance, at least compared to the high-stakes discussions that normally occur at major summits. Yet, if the four-day jaunt across the president’s ancestral home essentially served as a photo op, something critical was missing: iconic photos of Biden who, by all accounts, was having the time of his life. One week later, the still photographers who work inside the West Wing’s cramped quarters continued to grumble about how difficult it was to make memorable photos of Biden’s trip. “There was nothing iconic — but there could have been,” one said. It wasn’t for a lack of material. The issue, several still photographers said Thursday, was twofold. The White House staffers charged with shepherding the small traveling press pool prevented the photographers from moving into spots that would have allowed better angles. When the president strolled out of Carlingford Castle, a procession of bagpipers greeted him outside. But the pool wasn’t in a position to get Biden, the 12th century stone castle and the bagpipers in the shot. Secondly, staff often put Biden in locations mainly designed for him to speak directly into a camera, and kept the pool far from the spontaneous interactions that practically screamed for photographs. When Biden arrived at a pub in Dundalk, for example, he greeted some of the hundreds of onlookers gathered in the street. But photographers were held some 60 feet away (and further frustrated by HUNTER BIDEN and VALERIE BIDEN OWEN, both traveling with the president, blocking their view of the action). Inside the pub, a podium had been set up for him to speak from. “Who goes into a pub and stands at a podium?” one photographer said Thursday. “They could have just put flags on the stage in South Court [Auditorium, the soundstage on the White House campus where Biden often speaks] and it would have been the same as Ireland.” Only as Biden left the pub as darkness fell, did BRIE MOORE, the director of press advance helping coordinate pool movements, encourage photographers to move closer to the scrum of onlookers, a response to their complaints that allowed for better shots, despite the harsh lamplight.
|  Images of President Joe Biden during his trip to Ireland. | Kenny Holston/New York Times | | 
President Joe Biden leaving Windsor Bar in Dundalk, Ireland. | Kevin Larmarque/Reuters | | Biden’s speech to a rapturous crowd of 27,000 people outside St. Muredach’s Cathedral in County Mayo, the emotional capstone of his four-day trip, was a made-for-television tableau. The president’s grand entrance came as the Dropkick Murphys’ “Shipping up to Boston” blared. But still photographers were kept just beneath the stage, shooting, at one point, around a staffer taking pictures on their phone. “It’s hard to please everybody. At the end of the day, there is a common goal there with getting a good shot — but how you get to that common goal, everybody has different ideas,” said a former Biden White House official. Some of the disappointed photographers from last week pointed wistfully to what they thought were more striking images of President BARACK OBAMA’s 2011 Ireland trip — proof, in their view, of what’s possible with better advance work.
|  Moments from former President Barack Obama's trip to Ireland in 2011. | Doug Mills/New York Times | “They do lack the same level of advance staff that past administrations’ had,” said DOUG MILLS, the New York Times’ veteran White House photographer who represents his colleagues on the White House Correspondents Association board. With additional advance staffers it could have been easier to allow the four traveling still photographers to split off temporarily from the full, 13-person pool to move closer to the president. The last time any photographer could recall that happening was when Biden toured the U.S.-Mexico border in January, and it only occurred because the White House staff photographer, ADAM SCHULTZ, had waved them closer. “Our advance team works across multiple time zones and within tight timelines to provide the best opportunities for press to cover the president,” assistant press secretary ROBYN PATTERSON told West Wing Playbook. “We’re immensely proud of the work they do and the fact that their diligent efforts have enabled photographers to take award-winning images of this president’s travels.” Photographers’ complaints about the White House impeding their ability to make better images of the president aren’t new. On Biden’s first big overseas trip in 2021, photographers complained loudly about the set-up and lack of access inside the airplane hangar where the president was set to hold a press conference. Biden, prepping just behind the stage, heard them, aides later admitted. But little has changed – a function, photographers believe, of being short-staffed, not wanting the pool close enough to Biden to shout questions and a relative indifference to photography, at least compared to television. For some of those covering a notoriously tactile politician with a common touch, being kept at such a remove from these less scripted appearances has been as surprising as it’s been disappointing. “They just don’t seem to know how to make a picture where we can place him in something,” said one longtime White House photographer. “You can see [Biden] really absorbing these scenes, but we often can’t capture it.” MESSAGE US — Are you STACY EICHNER, special assistant to the president and chief of staff for the Office of Presidential Personnel? 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: A revolutionary new military engine offers capabilities combined with fuel savings – a win-win lawmakers on both sides of the aisle should support. Only GE’s XA100 engine can deliver for U.S. warfighters by 2028, with 30% more range, 20% greater acceleration, and 25% improved fuel efficiency. Congress should continue funding AETP to ensure warfighters can deter geopolitical threats. Read why one Air Force veteran thinks a new engine is the right choice for the U.S. | | | | | This one is from Allie. The infamous resolute desk that’s a fixture of the Oval Office was gifted to which president? (Answer at bottom.)
| | IT’S ANYONE’S GUESS: Biden is preparing to launch his reelection campaign next week via a video announcement, the WaPo’s TYLER PAGER and MICHAEL SCHERER report. The announcement could come as soon as Tuesday, which would fall on the four-year anniversary of his 2020 campaign launch. It would also be just days before Biden is expected to host top Democratic donors in Washington, as the NYT reported Wednesday. JUST CHECKING IN: Biden spoke with EMMANUEL MACRON on Thursday. It follows the French president’s visit to China earlier this month, during which his comments about how Europe shouldn’t get sucked into a confrontation over Taiwan raised eyebrows. In a statement, the White House said the two leaders discussed Macron’s visit and “reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.” WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: This NYT opinion piece by American Medical Association president JACK RESNECK JR., arguing that the legal challenge to the abortion pill mifepristone “is one of the most brazen attacks yet against reproductive health.” Resneck writes that we “cannot be a country where your access to the care you need is determined by the whims of ideologically driven judges and lawmakers without medical or scientific training.” Principal deputy press secretary OLIVIA DALTON shared the piece on Twitter. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: This piece from our NICHOLAS WU and ADAM CANCRYN about how a growing group of House Democrats are pushing Biden to restart negotiations with House Speaker KEVIN MCCARTHY on a debt ceiling plan, especially if House Republicans pass their debt limit bill next week. “Should McCarthy accomplish that step, several House Democrats said this week that Biden would need to meet with the speaker. Not doing so, they worry, could make it appear to voters that the White House isn’t working with requisite urgency on an issue with potentially drastic economic consequences,” they write. BUT BUT BUT… The House Republicans’ debt limit proposal seems like a nonstarter for the White House. Press secretary KARINE JEAN PIERRE expressed the administration’s opposition for the bill Thursday, saying that every lawmaker who votes for it “is voting to cut education, veterans medical care, cancer research, Meals on Wheels, food safety and law enforcement.” WaPo’s JOHN WAGNER has more. CALMER THAN YOU ARE, DUDE: CNN’s EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE reports that Biden allies aren’t worried about the newest Democratic challenger in the presidential race, ROBERT F. KENNEDY: “To the confident advisers in the Biden orbit and their wider circle of supporters, the Kennedy challenge only serves to reinforce the president’s strength. Kennedy and spiritual author Marianne Williamson — mocked at a daily White House press briefing after her primary campaign launch — are the extent of the challenge Biden has drawn.”
| | | | 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. | | | | | | | | | YELLEN, BUT USING HER INSIDE VOICE: Treasury Secretary JANET YELLEN outlined goals for the U.S.-China relationship in remarks Thursday. “Protecting human rights and national security, establishing healthy economic ties and cooperating on major global issues,” WSJ’s ANDREW DUEHREN reports. Yellen’s reinforcement comes as tensions between the U.S. and China rise, with the Biden administration working to shift its economy and others away from China. Frequently hawkish on China, Yellen made clear the U.S. would balance economic competitiveness with national security, sounding “more forthright on Thursday about the U.S.’s willingness to make economic sacrifices for the sake of national security.” PERSONNEL MOVES: LAUREN GILLIS is now chief of staff to State Department Counselor DEREK CHOLLET, DANIEL LIPPMAN has learned. She most recently was senior policy adviser to U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations LINDA THOMAS GREENFIELD.
| | LET THE CONFIRMATION HEARINGS BEGIN: Confirmation hearings kicked off Thursday for JULIE SU, Biden’s pick to lead the Labor Department, and our KIERRA FRAZIER has five things you need to know about the nominee here. Senate Republicans did not hold back during day one, our NICK NIEDZWIADEK and DANIELLA DIAZ report, as they asked Su about “everything from her meetings with union leaders to her activism as a college student, with an eye toward peeling off enough moderate Democrats to sink her nomination.”
| | | | A message from GE:   | | | | | WOULD NOT WANT TO BE AUSTIN RN: Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN is in Germany this week to meet with other international defense chiefs supporting Ukraine and has a pretty big task in front of him — to “convince Kyiv that U.S. confidence is unbroken after its secret doubts spilled into the open,” our LARA SELIGMAN and LILI BAYER report. Austin will “need to show that the U.S. is confident in and committed to Ukraine, after the leaked documents appeared to show pessimistic assessments about Kyiv’s ability to win the war this year as well as concerns over the country’s dwindling weapons stockpiles.” MOVING AWAY FROM SUDAN: The Pentagon Thursday began moving U.S. forces to Djibouti, “in anticipation of a potential mission to evacuate U.S. Embassy personnel in Khartoum, Sudan,” our ALEXANDER WARD, Lara Seligman and ERIN BANCO report. The move comes after “a week of fighting, as two rival generals — Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, in charge of the nation’s armed forces, and Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dalago, who leads the Rapid Support Forces military group — battle for control of the country.” A WHOLE LOTTA MONEY: The Biden administration announced Thursday it will put $1 billion toward the Green Climate Fund, a major international climate aid fund, to help “burnish U.S. credibility after former President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans had zeroed out U.S. contributions for the program,” our ZACK COLMAN reports.
| | | | 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. | | | | | | | | | Democrats advance seven Biden judicial nominees with GOP support amid Feinstein absence (NBC News’ Sahil Kapur) U.S. has inventoried old-growth forests. Will protection be next? (WaPo’s Anna Phillips) Justice Dept. Presses Local Courts to Reduce Fines (NYT’s Glenn Thrush)
| | | In 1880, the resolute desk was gifted to President RUTHERFORD B. HAYES by QUEEN VICTORIA. According to the White House Historical Association, the desk “has been used by every president since Hayes, excepting Presidents Johnson, Nixon and Ford.” 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: There's no such thing as a zero-cost alternative when it comes to improving the F-35's powerplant, but a new engine for the F-35 could mean huge savings for America’s taxpayers. According to former fighter pilot John Venable, “At a price of just under $4 a gallon, taxpayers would save $315,000 in that one mission.” Read more from Venable. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
