Turmoil in the advance office

From: POLITICO West Wing Playbook - Monday Mar 11,2024 10:14 pm

Mar 11, 2024

By Lauren Egan, Daniel Lippman, Eli Stokols and Ben Johansen

Presented by Amnesty International USA; Oxfam America, American Friends Service Committee, Win Without War and Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft

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During a reelection year, few aides are as critical to the president’s success as those on the White House advance team — the network of White House and campaign aides tasked with coordinating, designing and staging his public speeches and events across the country.

But within the tight-knit advance community, there’s serious concern about the current direction of the office, according to interviews with 18 current and former White House staffers and people who have worked directly with it.

The culture within the office has gotten so bad that the White House Counsel’s Office opened an investigation, according to three people who were contacted last fall by the office for interviews. Specifically, they said, investigators looked into complaints of verbal harassment by IAN MELLUL, the former associate director of presidential advance. Mellul resigned March 1 after a months-long investigation, according to multiple people familiar with the situation. BRIE MOORE, the former director of press advance, also resigned within the past few weeks following complaints from the press corps to the White House about her behavior, several people familiar with the office said.

Those who spoke with West Wing Playbook worried about the implications that turmoil within the team could have on President JOE BIDEN’s reelection efforts. The advance office leans on a nationwide network of volunteers — often advance staffers from previous administrations or past campaign cycles — to help with the president’s trips.

But the Biden office has earned such a bad reputation that some seasoned vets have declined to pitch in when asked, according to four former White House staffers. Those familiar with the Biden operation said that meant more room for error, especially as the president travels more frequently ahead of the general election.

In a text to West Wing Playbook, Mellul denied making verbal threats to staffers. “That is simply not true,” he said. Moore did not respond to a request for comment.

Mellul’s behavior towards junior staff was widely known on campus, and staffers did not see meaningful changes in the years he worked in the office, current and former staffers said.

The White House’s HR team opened an investigation into Mellul’s conduct about a year ago, which led to him getting management training and an executive coach, according to a person familiar with the situation. Eventually the counsel’s office decided to investigate Mellul after additional complaints were made before he was put on paid administrative leave and then resigned, the person said.

Deputy press secretary ANDREW BATES said “we do not comment on personnel matters one way or another” when asked about the White House investigation into Mellul.

Mellul — who did advance for Biden’s 2020 campaign and joined the White House early on in the presidency — would threaten staffers that he would “ruin your life” when mistakes were made and regularly called junior staffers “pieces of shit” and “worthless,” according to two of the people who witnessed his actions. Mellul would also demand interns run personal errands, like picking up his dry cleaning.

“There’s a right and a wrong way to treat people in any business,” said one of the former White House advance associates, who like the others, was granted anonymity to speak candidly. “You’re just not putting your best face forward for anybody if you’re just lashing out at people, barking commands, not treating people with respect, not treating people with dignity.”

Mellul, in his text, apologized to those who felt targetted or offended even as he denied the central accusations against him. “It’s been the honor of a lifetime working with this team, and I’m so proud of everything we’ve done together,” he said. “After over three amazing years in the White House, I wanted to start a new chapter.”

Moore, whose job required her to work directly with the media during presidential trips, had a challenging relationship with the press from the get-go. Reporters raised issues on multiple occasions with the White House about how they felt Moore did not do enough to accommodate the press and did not clearly communicate travel plans, leading to unnecessary challenges, according to numerous people familiar with those conversations.

The allegations, specifically those against Mellul, underscore the occasional difficulty Biden has had in keeping to his pledge to foster a collaborative and respectful workplace environment. Ultimately, some upset with the culture on the advance team place blame on the person who oversaw it: RYAN MONTOYA. The director of scheduling and advance and an assistant to the president, Montoya supported Mellul getting workplace training, according to a person familiar with the situation. But six current and former Biden staffers said that he did not do enough to address the situation.

“Ryan Montoya is the head of the department who I think everyone would blame for this whole issue. People went to Ryan many times and Ryan would just laugh it off and ignore it,” said a former White House official.

Some of the current and former Biden staffers who had worked with Montoya — who was Biden’s 2020 campaign director of scheduling and advance — said he could also lash out at staffers and belittle aides in front of colleagues. But they believe that because Montoya was trusted by ANTHONY BERNAL, adviser to first lady JILL BIDEN and one of the most powerful figures within the Biden White House, as well as deputy chief of staff ANNIE TOMASINI, he was shielded from discipline.

Montoya did not respond to West Wing Playbook’s request for comment. Asked about the claims of Montoya mistreating staff, Bates said they “could not be further from the truth.”

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POTUS PUZZLER

QUEEN ELIZABETH II gifted which president silver-plated horseshoes?

(Answer at bottom.)

The Oval

NERD MARCH MADNESS: It was a huge day for number crunchers and self-described “wonks” as President Biden released his 2025 fiscal budget on Monday. The proposal calls for major new spending initiatives, including significant tax hikes for corporations and billionaires, AP’s JOSH BOAK and FATIMA HUSSEIN report. The proposal, which would cut deficits by over $3 trillion in the next decade, also includes an increased child tax credit for parents and would give homebuyers a tax credit upwards of $10,000.

Although the largely symbolic proposal is unlikely to get past House Republican leaders, it gives Biden the opportunity to build off of his State of the Union address, which laid out his second term’s economic agenda.

MOUNTING FRUSTRATION: President Biden will consider conditioning military aid to Israel if it continues with its planned large-scaled invasion into Rafah, our ALEXANDER WARD and JONATHAN LEMIRE report. It’s the latest sign of a strained relationship between Biden and Israeli Prime Minister BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, who has rejected pleas from the Biden administration to rein in his military’s war efforts in Gaza.

According to four U.S. officials with knowledge of the administration’s thinking, conditioning aid is something the president could very well go ahead with if Israel launches a new operation that could further jeopardize Palestinian lives.

WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: Another piece about Biden eating food, of course. On Friday, a Pennsylvania family welcomed the president and first lady JILL BIDEN into their home for a pizza dinner, which one attendee described as “just hanging out and swapping stories.” It seems like the president made a good impression, because the glowing quotes were never ending. “He’s a great storyteller and he’s personal and warm,” the same attendee said. “He can remember every detail.” Another said that Biden “presented himself more as a neighbor than the president of the United States.”

Campaign spokesperson DANIEL WESSEL shared the piece on X.

WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO WATCH: This interview with DONALD TRUMP on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” where the former president said he’d look to cut Social Security and Medicare. “There is a lot you can do in terms of entitlements… in terms of cutting,” Trump said on Monday.

Trump’s people insisted he was talking about cutting waste and bureaucracy. But, well, this stuff is fertile ground politically for Democrats. Deputy press secretary Andrew Bates released a statement touting the president’s budget proposal: “While President Biden’s predecessor proposed cutting Medicare and Social Security every year he was in office, today, in his budget, President Biden honors his ironclad commitment by firmly opposing benefit cuts.”

During a campaign stop in New Hampshire on Monday, Biden latched on to Trump’s remarks: “Bottom line is, he’s still at it. I’m never going to allow that to happen.”

WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: This piece by Reuters’ KAT STAFFORD and JAYLA WHITFIELD-ANDERSON, who report that the Biden campaign is failing to engage Black voters in Georgia, a key bloc that guided him to victory in the state in 2020. Nearly a dozen voters, rights advocates and civil rights leaders interviewed by Reuters said the campaign has a messaging disconnect with Black communities across the nation, including in Georgia, where 33 percent of the population is Black. Those interviewed said that some Black voters feel there hasn’t been enough done for them, or that they are unaware of the administration’s actions that have directly affected Black Americans.

A HEAVY VISIT: Vice President KAMALA HARRIS will make a trip to Parkland, Florida, this month to walk the halls of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the scene of the deadly 2018 shooting that killed 14 students and 3 adults, NPR’s DEEPA SHIVARAM reports. Harris, who heads up the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, will tour the school with family members of the victims. The building, which has largely been left untouched since the shooting, is set to be demolished this summer.

A message from Amnesty International USA; Oxfam America, American Friends Service Committee, Win Without War and Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft:

More than 30,000 civilians have been killed in Gaza, including 13,000 children. Two million people are at risk of starvation and children are already dying because of hunger. As the Israeli government’s closest ally, the United States must use its influence to bring about an end to the hostilities while suspending weapons transfers to the government of Israel. President Biden, you have the power to end this. Permanent Ceasefire now!

CAMPAIGN HQ

GET KNOCKIN’: The Biden campaign is launching Students for Biden-Harris, a program focused on growing its volunteer corps of young Americans, NPR’s ELENA MOORE reports. EVE LEVENSON, the campaign’s director of youth engagement and head of the new program, says the launch begins a “recruitment blitz for volunteers,” and that the campaign will assist students in starting a presence or chapter at their high schools or colleges to recruit volunteers.

THE BUREAUCRATS

WHEN ZIENTS SAID NO ONE WAS LEAVING, HE FUDGED: Four days after chief of staff JEFF ZIENTS said that the Cabinet will stay in place through the 2024 election, Housing Secretary MARCIA FUDGE announced that she will step down from her role on March 22. In an email to staff on Monday, Fudge said serving as HUD secretary was “the ideal opportunity to culminate a career focused on doing the most good for the most people, including those who have often been left behind or left out.”

The White House said Deputy Secretary ADRIANNE TODMAN will serve as HUD’s acting secretary.

MORE PERSONNEL MOVES: KEVIN LEWIS is now a senior communications adviser for Vice President Harris, our Daniel Lippman has learned. He temporarily fills in for STEPHANIE YOUNG, who is out on maternity leave. Lewis most recently worked in executive comms at Meta and is an alum of the Obama White House and Department of Justice.

— LUKAS MCGOWAN, who recently left the White House as senior adviser for economic recovery in the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, has joined Bloomberg Philanthropies as head of federal initiatives.

— RANDI HUTCHINSON has rejoined Greenberg Traurig as counsel in its federal government, law and policy practice. She most recently was chief of staff at the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service and is a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration alum.

— JOE SCHEIDLER is now an adviser to the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment at the State Department. He most recently was a special adviser to the White House Office of the National Cyber Director and is a USAID alum.

A message from Amnesty International USA; Oxfam America, American Friends Service Committee, Win Without War and Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft:

Agenda Setting

PRESSURE IS ON: The Pentagon has sent over $10 billion worth of weapons to Ukraine that it still is unable to replace because of congressional gridlock, our LARA SELIGMAN reports. Department of Defense officials expect that the funding needed to replenish the weapons will be in the president's supplemental request. But that legislation, which also includes billions for additional aid for Israel and Taiwan, has stalled in Congress with no end in sight.

If the DOD does not get the funding to replenish its artillery, the impact of the “ongoing hole” would be felt most by the U.S. military’s own forces, a senior Pentagon official told Seligman.

TRADING PUNCHES: Big Pharma is mounting an intense legal challenge to Biden’s plan to lower prescription drug costs for seniors, WaPo’s TONY ROMM reports. Drugmakers are urging federal judges across the country to invalidate a new program that aims to reduce the price of medications for high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer and diabetes. In a series of lawsuits, the drugmakers called the government’s new rule “unconstitutional” and defended their pricing practices, arguing that regulations could impact further cures.

The industry is specifically targeting one rule that allows Medicare to negotiate the set price of select drugs under its prescription benefit, known as Part D.

What We're Reading

Jake Sullivan Navigates a World of Chaos (WSJ’s Vivian Salama, Gordon Lubold and Sabrina Siddiqui)

Joe Goddamn Biden (Bess Kalb on Substack)

CNN declined to air ad that faults Biden for Laken Riley’s murder during State of the Union (Fox News’ Brian Flood)

A message from Amnesty International USA; Oxfam America, American Friends Service Committee, Win Without War and Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft:

President Biden: The Israeli government’s ruthless bombardment continues to kill Palestinians in Gaza every day. We need a permanent ceasefire immediately, and the US must suspend weapons transfers to the government of Israel now. More than 30,000 people have been killed, and over 70,000 and counting have been wounded. As 2.3 million Gazans are at risk of starvation, convoys delivering life-saving aid are being blocked and attacked, and hospitals are being bombed.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. President Biden, if you don’t act now, many more people will be killed.

POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER

President GEORGE H.W. BUSH in 1991. But Queen Elizabeth did decline the invitation to join Bush in a game in the White House’s horseshoe pit.

“She was very happy to watch the president practice this very obviously difficult sport,” a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said. “This was the first time the queen had seen a horseshoe thrown by anyone.”

Thanks to DAVID CHARTER for the question! His book, “Royal Audience,” a deep dive into the relationship between Queen Elizabeth II and US presidents is out now!

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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