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From: Ritani - Tuesday Mar 07,2023 10:51 pm

Mar 07, 2023

By Adam Wren, Eli Stokols and Lauren Egan

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Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. With help from Allie Bice.

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INDIANAPOLIS — RON KLAIN is still charting his post-White House path. The president’s former chief of staff is reconnecting with family following the death of his mother and employing a WME agent as he fields options from cable gigs to book deals.

But Indiana Democrats have another pitch: come home and run for Senate in 2024. After all, the state party’s erstwhile rising star, PETE BUTTIGIEG, decamped to Michigan last year to be closer to husband CHASTEN’s family. That left his former campaign manager and pal MIKE SCHMUHL — now the leader of the state’s Democratic party — without a national figure and fundraiser on his bench.

“Ron Klain would give Hoosier Democrats an incredible shot in the arm and a legitimate chance to win the open Senate seat,” said KIP TEW, the former Democratic Party state chair who helped turn Indiana blue for BARACK OBAMA in 2008 and was one year behind Klain at North Central High School in Indianapolis. “He would be an outstanding candidate, but more importantly, he would be a terrific United States senator and help make the institution a better place.”

The pitch to Klain has been made privately, too. BARON HILL, a long-time friend and former Blue Dog Democratic congressman from southern Indiana, called this past Monday to ask him to consider running.

“I thought with his profile, he would have been an excellent candidate,” Hill said. “I knew it was going to be a long shot.”

Klain, for his part, says he’s not interested. “Absolutely not,” he told West Wing Playbook. “I’ve never run for anything in my life.”

“I think it’s a winnable race with the right candidate who can rally rising support in the ring counties around Indy, plus pull back some lost voters in places like Kokomo, Anderson, New Castle,” all industrial and manufacturing hubs in the state, Klain continued. “I think [Rep. Jim] Banks [the likely Republican candidate] is too extreme for the state.”

In an attempt to put any speculation to rest that he might be talked into running, Klain posted a Monday morning tweet that was authored shortly after his talk with Hill.

“Come on @INDems let’s find some great candidates to run for US Senate!” he tweeted.

Not every Democrat welcomed the missive or Klain’s newfound interest in Indiana’s Senate race.

THOMAS MCDERMOTT, the party’s 2022 Democratic Senate nominee, called Klain a “jag off,” telling him to “get lost.” He also criticized the national party apparatus for not investing more in his Senate race, which saw him get trounced by Republican incumbent Sen. TODD YOUNG by 20 points.

“It was dickish,” McDermott said of Klain’s tweet. “He knows full well that I ran and I worked hard. We asked him specifically and Hoosiers in Washington, D.C., to help so we could compete in Indiana and were ignored.”

The prospects of Democrats winning the Indiana Senate seat remain remote, regardless of who the party recruits to run. Three high-level Hoosier Democrats said they hope Biden’s ambassador to the Vatican, JOE DONNELLY, the former senator who is back in Indiana this week, leaves the administration to make another bid for Senate or even governor. Donnelly is said to be eyeing an exit from his current post.

Even though Klain says he’s not running, Indiana has become a bigger part of his life in recent months. He jetted back to Indianapolis frequently, including for Thanksgiving, to spend time with his ailing mother, SARANN HORWITZ KLAIN, who died on Feb. 21.

“He was here every weekend,” said ROBIN WINSTON, the former Indiana Democratic Party chairman who keeps in touch with Klain. “And that’s taxing.”

Klain told West Wing Playbook he hopes to attend the Indy 500 in May — his first since 2019, after having attended roughly 20 of the races.

He’ll also be back next month to celebrate Passover, his first Jewish holiday without his mom.

MESSAGE US — Are you Rep. JIM BANKS (R-Ind.)? We want to hear from you. And we’ll keep you anonymous! Email us at westwingtips@politico.com.

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POTUS PUZZLER

With help from the White House Historical Association

Which president’s pre-White House career required him to have strong horse riding skills?

(Answer at the bottom.)

The Oval

SEEKING JUSTICE: National Security Council spokesperson JOHN KIRBY called the kidnapping of four Americans in Mexico, two of them found dead, “unacceptable.” He told reporters Tuesday the Biden administration will “work closely with the Mexican government to ensure that justice is done in this case.” CNN’s BETSY KLEIN has more.

WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: This NYT opinion piece by guest columnist, Joe Biden, outlining how he’ll extend Medicare “beyond 2050 without cutting a penny in benefits.” The president argues that “if the MAGA Republicans get their way, seniors will pay higher out-of-pocket costs on prescription drugs and insulin, the deficit will be bigger, and Medicare will be weaker. The only winner under their plan will be Big Pharma. That’s not how we extend Medicare’s life for another generation or grow the economy.” The White House press office sent the piece to reporters in a 5:30 a.m. “ICYMI” email.

WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: This piece by STAT News’ SARAH OWERMOHLE that looks into what HHS’ environmental justice office is up to: “Federal health officials are pressing Congress to fund a new office tasked with tackling the fallout from environmental exposures. But amid the first major environmental disaster of its existence, the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment, the tiny department seems unsure what to do — or if it can do anything at all.”

A spokesperson for the office told STAT it is “not currently designed to distribute funds or send staff to impacted areas,” but that it will “follow up on the East Palestine disaster through policy discussions and convening stakeholders where and when appropriate.”

TICK TOCK FOR TIKTOK: The Biden administration is backing a bill by Sens. MARK WARNER (D-Va.) and JOHN THUNE (R-S.D.) that would allow the government to restrict access to TikTok. National security adviser JAKE SULLIVAN released a statement Tuesday saying the measure would “prevent certain foreign governments from exploiting technology services operating in the United States in a way that poses risks to Americans’ sensitive data and our national security.”

ON THE CALENDAR: South Korean President YOON SUK YEOL and first lady KIM KEON HEE are set to visit the White House on April 26. They will be the guests of honor at the second state dinner of Biden’s presidency, which “celebrates the 70th anniversary of the U.S.-[Republic of Korea] alliance,” according to a White House statement.

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THE BUREAUCRATS

GOING, GOING, SOHN: Biden’s embattled candidate for the Federal Communications Commission, GIGI SOHN, withdrew her nomination Monday night, ending a bruising 16-month confirmation fight that turned personal. The Washington Post’s CAT ZAKRZEWSKI scooped the news, which the White House confirmed.

That news hit just as Sen. JOE MANCHIN (D-W.Va.) announced that he opposed her nomination. Big cable and media companies fought hard to keep the longtime public interest advocate off the panel, preventing Democrats from gaining control of the telecom regulator’s five-member commission.

ANOTHER ONE GONE: REMI YAMAMOTO, the senior adviser for the office of the chief of staff, is leaving the administration. The news — as is now customary with Biden White House departure announcements — was broken by CNN. The network’s PHIL MATTINGLY grabbed on-the-record praise from several senior aides and the president himself, who lauded her as “unflinchingly loyal and extraordinarily capable.” The piece noted that Yamamoto was a “day one” member of Biden’s 2020 campaign, where she worked as the traveling press secretary.

AUSTIN ABROAD: Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN made a surprise trip Tuesday to Baghdad, where he met with Iraqi Prime Minister MOHAMMED SHIA AL-SUDANI and Defense Minister THABET MUHAMMAD AL-ABBASI and reaffirmed the U.S.-Iraqi strategic partnership. Our MATT BERG has more details here.

Filling the Ranks

WHO’S NEXT?: Air Force Secretary FRANK KENDALL sang the praises of Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. C.Q. BROWN during a conference Tuesday in Colorado. He even hinted that Brown could be the next Joint Chiefs chair after Gen. MARK MILLEY’s term ends this fall, our LEE HUDSON reports for Pro s. “I would hate to lose such a great partner, but there is a chance somebody who outranks me considerably might see those same attributes in C.Q,” Kendall said.

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Agenda Setting

MORE INTEREST RATE HIKES INCOMING?: Fed Chair JEROME POWELL told lawmakers Tuesday that to continue evading a recession, “the ultimate level of interest rates is likely to be higher than previously anticipated,” WaPo’s RACHEL SIEGEL recaps. “If the totality of the data were to indicate that faster tightening is warranted, we would be prepared to increase the pace of rate hikes,” he said.

What We're Reading

Biden administration sued over student loan payment pause by SoFi (CNN’s Katie Lobosco)

Plunge in border crossings could blunt GOP attack on Biden (AP’s Elliot Spagat)

Biden Under Mounting Senate Pressure to Name a Latino to Fed (Bloomberg’s Catarina Saraiva)

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POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER

President RONALD REAGAN had an affinity for horseback riding — which came in handy during his earlier days as a Hollywood actor. “His career in films and his own recreation demanded that he ride well,” according to the White House Historical Association. Reagan also loved entertaining visiting heads of state who liked to ride.

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.

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