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The power players, latest policy developments, and intriguing whispers percolating inside the West Wing. | | | | |  | | By Lauren Egan, Eli Stokols and Lawrence Ukenye | Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. With help from producer Raymond Rapada. Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Eli | Email Lauren Vice President KAMALA HARRIS was in a hurry. After finishing her taped interview last week with CBS’ MARGARET BRENNAN at the end of a four-day trip to Indonesia for the annual ASEAN Summit, her team rushed to load into the motorcade outside the St. Regis Jakarta. They were in such a hurry to get to the airport for the long trip back to Washington that they left behind the two journalists who were supposed to accompany them on Air Force Two: The AP’s CHRIS MEGERIAN and the Washington Post’s JOSH ROGIN, who was serving as the pool reporter. By the time Air Force Two was wheels up from Jakarta, Harris was nearly an hour behind schedule. When she landed at Yokota Air Base in Japan to refuel, staff got up to stretch their legs, but didn’t stray far. The frantic rush was purposeful. Harris needed to get into U.S. airspace so that her boss, JOE BIDEN, could leave it. More than 6,000 miles away, the president was about to travel from Washington to New Delhi, India — with a refuel stop first at Ramstein Air Base in Germany — for the annual G20 Summit. When Biden took off on Air Force One at approximately 5:20 p.m. ET last Thursday, Harris was nearing U.S. airspace over Alaska. There was likely a period when neither the president nor the vice president were in U.S. airspace, although it’s difficult to say with certainty how much time passed. And it would be roughly four more hours until Harris actually touched down on U.S. soil at the Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage to refuel again before flying to Washington. Although the handoff wasn’t exactly in sync, it was still an impressive example of the massive amount of coordination and planning that goes into every second of the two principals’ lives, particularly when it involves international travel. That synchronization was captured in a graphic by Voice of America’s PATSY WIDAKUSWARA, who had been traveling in Indonesia with the vice president.
|  | | There’s no hard and fast rule that the president and vice president cannot be overseas at the same time. But most administrations make an effort to avoid it. While it doesn’t have any line of succession implications (the president is still in power even when abroad), it poses increased security risks and requires more dedicated resources for clearing air space. It could also present complications in the event of a domestic crisis. “There’s an unspoken rule that a president and vice president shouldn’t be out of the United States at the same time,” said historian DOUGLAS BRINKLEY. “There should be someone to take instant command in the United States. Look what happened when 9/11 occurred and nobody knew where Bush was. To reassure the American public, one of the two needs to be in the homeland.” A former White House official from the Clinton administration said they couldn’t recall a time when the president and vice president were out of the country at the same time. After 9/11, the GEORGE W. BUSH White House was especially sensitive to this. In 2013, there was a 20-minute window when neither President BARACK OBAMA nor then-Vice President Biden were on U.S. soil, as Obama left for a trip to Israel and Biden returned from Pope Francis’ investiture in Rome. The episode sparked a flurry of questions from reporters at the time about whether that meant House Speaker JOHN BOEHNER would be left in charge. (It did not.) The Trump White House was more relaxed about the protocol. In 2019, President DONALD TRUMP visited Argentina for the G20 while Vice President MIKE PENCE was in Mexico for the inauguration of President ANDRÉS MANUEL LÓPEZ OBRADOR. The pair were also abroad at the same time on two different occasions in 2018 — once when Trump was en route to a summit in Vietnam and Pence was in Colombia, and another time when Trump was returning from France and Pence was traveling to Asia. For Biden and Harris’ staff, weeks of careful planning went into mapping out their schedules and coordinating their arrival and departure times. Megerian and Rogin’s own travel was a victim of it. Having been left behind in Jakarta, the two reporters were forced to take the support plane that tails Air Force Two, which they caught only after sprinting down the tarmac with 60 seconds to spare. They caught up with Air Force Two during the 82-minute refueling process in Japan, and rode back with the vice president for the remainder of the trip. MESSAGE US — Are you THE MOTORCADE DRIVER WHO LEFT WITHOUT CHRIS AND JOSH? 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 WORLD’S BIGGEST DIPLOMATIC PLATFORM WITH UNGA PLAYBOOK: The 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly will jam some of the world's most influential leaders into four city blocks in Manhattan. POLITICO's special edition UNGA Playbook will take you inside this important gathering starting Sept. 17 — revealing newsy nuggets throughout the week and insights into the most pressing issues facing global decision-makers today. Sign up for UNGA Playbook. | | | | | | | | | BARBRA STREISAND, JULIE ANDREWS, CAROL BURNETT and HARRY BELAFONTE sang at the inaugural celebration for which president? (Answer at bottom.)
| | GOOD GRACIOUS, IGNATIUS! Several opinion pieces in recent months have argued that President Biden, now 80, should not seek a second term next year. But the latest came last night from a columnist who is well-read — and well-regarded — inside the West Wing: the Washington Post’s DAVID IGNATIUS. His argument, which he says pains him “given my admiration for much of what they’ve accomplished,” is two-fold: the public’s concerns about Biden’s age are real and legitimate, and voters are likely to focus more on Vice President Harris, who, Ignatius writes, “has failed to gain traction in the country or even within her own party.” Our KIERRA FRAZIER has the details about the renewed hand wringing surrounding the Biden-Harris ticket, at least among op-ed columnists. The press shop, which has been more than willing of late to weigh in on the merits of various pieces, opted not to react publicly. But outside allies sounded off. MSNBC host and former Harris spokesperson SYMONE SANDERS, wrote on X: “Op-eds like these just don’t make sense to me. Biden has launched a reelection campaign and has not signaled in any way, shape or form that he would consider dropping out of the race. So…why write this?” And consultant PATRICK DILLON, the husband of deputy chief of staff JEN O’MALLEY DILLON, tweeted: “you could spot $1B and a cleared primary field to Ignatius, [Josh] Barro, [Ross] Douthat and the rest and none of them could win a presidential election as manager or strategist, much less candidate, I’d bet my children on it; closest they’ll ever get is hacking out lazy 700 word fantasies.” (Conveniently enough, these folks can now test their ability managing a presidential campaign with our newly posted interactive feature here — and so can you!) ANOTHER MIXED BAG: New inflation figures released on Wednesday show that while gas prices are driving up inflation, core consumer prices rose 4.3 percent, down slightly from last month and the smallest increase in nearly two years. The data mirrors the conflicting picture painted in last month’s Labor Department metrics that highlighted prices tapering off in areas excluding food and energy, giving the White House an additional lever in selling the economy to skeptical voters. THE CLOCK IS TICKING: The growing possibility of a United Auto Workers strike as early as Friday could create a quandary for the Biden administration as it juggles to present the president as pro-union, but committed to developing the country’s clean energy economy. Although the White House has insisted Biden won’t play a direct role in negotiations, the Wall Street Journal’s KEN THOMAS and NORA ECKERT report that the president spoke with leaders at General Motors, Ford and Stellantis and urged them to “stay at the table” as both sides careen toward when UAW’s contract expires midnight Thursday. Council of Economic Advisers chair JARED BERNSTEIN told reporters at Wednesday’s White House press briefing that Biden believes auto workers “deserve a contract that sustains middle class jobs" but stopped short of saying the president would support workers if they strike. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: This piece by CNN’s DONALD JUDD (who communications director BEN LABOLT referred to as a “desk jockey” Sunday over a piece they liked far less) about how Biden is focusing on his domestic agenda amid House Republicans’ launch of an impeachment inquiry. The president unveiled a slew of actions for his cancer moonshot program, including $240 million in funding for efforts aimed at better detecting and treating the disease, our ERIN SCHUMAKER also reports for Pro s. Deputy communications adviser for the White House Counsel SHARON YANG blasted Judd's piece out to reporters in an ICYMI email. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: This piece by our TANYA SNYDER and JAMES BIKALES on how Biden’s clean energy priorities are being tested by UAW’s concerns about transitioning to an industry dominated by electric vehicles. The majority of the more than $200 billion in private investment generated by the Inflation Reduction Act has gone to Republican-led states, fueling fears that the country’s burgeoning clean energy economy won’t include ample protections for workers. “UAW members feel abandoned by the Democratic Party,” former union President BOB KING said.
| | PERSONNEL MOVES: GABRIEL UY is now deputy director of public engagement and intergovernmental affairs for the Office of the Vice President. He most recently was associate director of intergovernmental affairs for the White House.
| | A CRITICAL CLIMATE HURDLE: The fate of key regulatory components to Biden’s climate agenda could be decided in upcoming court cases against the EPA and Department of Transportation, our ALEX GUILLÉN reports for Pro s. The U.S. Court of Appeals will hear two cases Thursday about EPA and DOT emission tailpipe regulations and fuel efficiency standards that Texas and other red states argue could strain energy grids and pose national security risks. The court will also hear arguments on Friday for a Ohio-led lawsuit that challenges California for adopting more stringent pollution rules than the federal government. IRA WINS AND LOSSES: While Biden’s signature climate law is spurring private clean energy investments across the country, some industries have benefited more than others from government tax credits, the New York Times’ JIM TANKERSLEY reports. While the law helped bolster the country’s automotive supply chain, investments in wind production declined over the past year as the industry has yet to show signs of benefiting from the IRA.
| | She’s 25, idealistic, and believes she has the formula to win North Carolina for Joe Biden (POLITICO’s Myah Ward) Washington is full of rats. These dogs are happy to help with that (WaPo’s Maura Judkis and Jabin Botsford) How Donald Trump’s DOJ gave Biden a major assist in the coming impeachment probe (POLITICO’s Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein) A corruption trial revealed a #MeToo ethics entanglement for a top Biden adviser (NPR’s Tom Dreisbach)
| | | All those entertainers performed at LYNDON B. JOHNSON’s 1965 inaugural gala. The celebration also featured performances from WOODY ALLEN and JOHNNY CARSON. Thanks to the LBJ Presidential Library for this question! A CALL OUT! Do you think you have a harder trivia question? Send us your best one about the presidents, with a citation or sourcing, and we may feature it! Edited by Eun Kyung Kim and Sam Stein.
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