Mediaboss Marketing

Welcome to POLITICOs 2020 Transition Playbook, your guide to one of the most consequential transfers of power in American history.

President-elect JOE BIDENs penchant for recycling key figures from the last Democratic administration has prompted predictions that the Biden government will be Obama 3.0.

But its also shaping up to embody many qualities of a would-be Democratic president who never got her shot: Hillary 1.0.

Four years after HILLARY CLINTON lost the presidential race to DONALD TRUMP, Biden is heading to the White House with a policy nucleus that is almost identical to the one Clinton was preparing to bring to Washington before her shock defeat.

RON KLAIN was a leading contender to be Clintons chief of staff. JAKE SULLIVAN and BRIAN DEESE were essentially locks to serve in the positions they will now fill for Biden: national security adviser and director of the National Economic Council. And NEERA TANDEN, who has been tapped to serve as director of the Office of Management and Budget, was also slated to fill a top policy role.

As Biden fills out the upper ranks of his administration, some longtime Biden aides have privately griped that top jobs in the administration have gone to people who are more loyal to Clinton than to Biden especially given that many people who have worked for Biden for years or at least since the beginning of the campaign have not yet landed jobs.

Tanden and Sullivan are longtime Clinton loyalists; Deese served as economic policy director for Clintons 2008 campaign and then became a top Obama aide; and Klain worked for Biden for decades before decamping his orbit to serve as a top adviser to Clinton on her 2016 campaign. Sullivan also worked directly for Biden in the White House as his national security adviser, but only after serving as Clintons top aide at the State Department.

Klain, in particular, had to work to mend relations with Biden.

Its been a little hard for me to play such a role in the Biden demise, Klain wrote to JOHN PODESTA in October 2015, according to emails released by WikiLeaks. I am definitely dead to thembut Im glad to be on Team HRC.

The Biden transition declined to comment.

Obama and Clinton alums argue Klain, Sullivan, Deese and Tanden are experienced and qualified, and they would be in line for top jobs in any Democratic administration.

"Its only been four years since the last Democratic administration so there are a lot of good people from the Obama administration that are good fits for the Biden administration so its not a surprise here, said JENNIFER PALMIERI, a top aide to both Obama and Clinton. Had another Democratic won, a lot of the same people would have been in contention because theyre the most experienced people, and theres a big premium on experience right now."

PHILIPPE REINES, a longtime Clinton aide, said Biden understands that there is no time for learning on the job, given the scale of the crises the country is facing. He also emphasized Klain and Sullivan are uniquely talented, and they both have deep ties to Biden.

Its a real testament to Ron and Jake, and President-elect Biden deserves credit for knowing this is not the time for experiments, said. Competency is paramount, and thats what he gets with picks like them.

Even with all the overlap, Palmieri said the circumstances Biden and his team are facing are so extreme that the president-elect will have no choice but to set himself apart.

Its hard to draw parallels between what advisers would have faced in a theoretical Clinton Administration versus the incoming Biden Administration because the entire universe has changed, she said. They are facing crises we could not have imagined four years ago.

Are you in touch with Bidens transition team? Do you work in an agency preparing (or not preparing) for the transfer of power? Are you GINA McCARTHY? We want to hear from you and well keep you anonymous: [emailprotected]. You can also reach Alex, Theo, Megan, Alice, Tyler and Daniel individually if you prefer.

Did someone forward this to you? Subscribe here!

A message from Facebook:

Facebook supports updated internet regulationsWe support updated internet regulations to set clear rules for todays toughest challenges and hold companies, including Facebook, accountable for: Combating foreign election interference Protecting people's privacy Enabling safe and easy data portability between platformsRead more

At the Queen Theatre in Wilmington, Del., where he introduced PETE BUTTIGIEG, his pick for Transportation secretary, who spoke about his personal love of transportation since childhood. He later held a Zoom call with governors.

Appearing with Biden at the Queen virtually (due to weather, per Biden) and on the Zoom call with governors.

THE TRADE FIGHTS AWAITING BIDEN The Trump administration is set to impose tariffs on $1 billion of French imports before Inauguration Day, in response to Paris taxes on digital services provided by massive U.S. technology. AARON LORENZO reports on the digital tax fight Biden will inherit, and how he may give negotiations on the matter more momentum, even though he isnt expected to fundamentally alter the U.S. approach.

The remaining articles and infographics in this section are exclusively available to POLITICO Pro subscribers. Pro is a smart, personalized policy intelligence platform from POLITICO. If you are interested in learning more about how POLITICO Pro can support your team through the 2020 transition and beyond, visit this webpage.

BREAKING: Biden will tap BRENDA MALLORY to lead the White House Council on Environmental Quality, according to two people familiar with the selection, which would put the veteran environmental lawyer in charge of an office with sweeping purview over how the federal government assesses environmental effects of policies, permits and infrastructure projects, ZACK COLMAN and Tyler report.

PELOSI: HAALAND WOULD BE EXCELLENT CHOICE FOR INTERIOR: House Speaker NANCY PELOSI has given the green light for Biden to pluck another House Democrat Rep. DEB HAALAND of New Mexico out of Congress and into his Cabinet, despite the toothpick-thin majority it would leave her with in January, SARAH FERRIS and Tyler report.

Pelosi released a statement Wednesday extolling Haaland, who is a top contender to lead the Department of the Interior. Biden transition officials had privately told reporters in recent days that House leadership has voiced concerns about pulling another Democrat from the House a suggestion that Pelosi and House Majority Leader STENY HOYER pushed back on Wednesday.

FOR THOSE WORRIED ABOUT PETES EXPERIENCE: If hes confirmed, PETE BUTTIGIEG will arrive at the Department of Transportation's Navy Yard headquarters with little experience dealing with the various appendages of official Washington but hell hardly be the first person in that position, TANYA SNYDER and SAM MINTZ report. The White House could follow the mold set by former Transportation Secretary ANTHONY FOXX, another former mayor, who appointed a savvy chief of staff who knew Washington and helped Foxx hit the ground running.

MEET BIDENS EMISSARY TO CONGRESS: NANCY SCOLA profiled LOUISA TERRELL, who will lead Bidens legislative affairs office. Among the Democrats on the Hill shes close with: Sens. CHRIS COONS (D-Del.), MARK WARNER (D-Va.) and MICHAEL BENNET (D-Colo.).

In her many different capacities over the years, Louisa has been a terrific partner, Bennet wrote in an email. She earned points with Bennet in her most recent Washington job as counselor to TOM WHEELER, then chair of the Federal Communications Commission when she helped wage a long-running fight to bring local programming to a corner of southwest Colorado flooded by New Mexican media.

THE CASE FOR COMITY What does Sen. BOB CASEY (D-Pa.) make of Bidens talk about working with Senate Majority Leader MITCH McCONNELL and other Republicans? I think he will try his best to engage in bipartisan collaboration, and see where it takes him, Casey said during a POLITICO Transition Playbook Live interview this morning.

But Biden, he added, knows how to throw a punch, too, and I think people need to understand that.

WHAT THE LEFT WANTS IN BIDENS ETHICS RULES: Biden isnt expected to put out his administration ethics rules until next month but the Revolving Door Project has drafted a suggested executive order as part of the groups efforts to nudge Bidens appointees in a more progressive direction. The proposed restrictions would go further than either President BARACK OBAMAs executive order or the rules for Biden transition team members.

While Obamas rules barred those who left his administration from lobbying top officials for the remainder of his administration, the Revolving Door Projects proposed rules prohibit those who will leave the Biden administration from communicating with the agencies they worked for with the intent to influence them on behalf of any private company or any nonprofit association that principally exists to advance for-profit interests for five years a broader standard than lobbying as its legally defined.

We think youre more likely to pick a fight with corporate America if you didnt come right from it, but youre certainly more likely to pick that fight if youre barred from returning to the private sector afterward, JEFF HAUSER, the Revolving Door Projects executive director, told reporters on a call this morning.

ATTENDING VIRTUAL INAUGURATION STILL COSTS REAL MONEY Bidens inauguration will be vastly smaller in scale than previous presidents swearing-in celebrations due to the pandemic but Bidens inaugural committee is still seeking big checks to help fund it.

An individual contribution of $500,000 (or $1 million from a company or other organization) will get you invitations to virtual events with Biden, Harris and their spouses, according to a fundraising missive sent out today and obtained by Transition Playbook.

Youll also get preferred virtual viewing for the ceremony, VIP participation in a virtual concert, briefings with inaugural committee honchos and Biden campaign veterans, and four VIP tickets to a future in-person event (date to be determined), among other perks.

Demand Progress and other progressive groups, meanwhile, sent a letter to TONY ALLEN, the inaugural committees chief executive, urging them not to take checks from corporations. (The committee has only sworn off contributions from fossil fuel companies.)

The inaugural committees decision to accept up to $1 million from individual corporations is of particular concern given that this year's inauguration will be predominantly remote, and costs of the event itself will be substantially down, the groups wrote. The drive to raise so much money without a clear use for it is perplexing, and the appearance of doing so is disconcerting.

RICCHETTIS BROTHER ADDS ANOTHER LOBBYING CLIENT: The pharmaceutical company Vaxart has hired JEFF RICCHETTI the brother of top Biden White House adviser STEVE RICCHETTI to lobby on legislative and regulatory policies regarding oral vaccine development and funding, according to a disclosure filing, CAITLIN OPRYSKO reports.

A person familiar with the brothers relationship told Caitlin that Jeff Ricchetti has never and would never lobby his brother on behalf of any of his clients, and that they keep their professional activities separated. Jeff Ricchetti has signed eight new clients since Biden became the presumptive Democratic nominee, five of which are pharmaceutical companies.

COVID IN THE PRESS POOL: A member of Bidens transition press corps tested positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday, according to the White House Correspondents Association, QUINT FORGEY reports. The infected individual is experiencing mild symptoms and is now isolating, WHCA President ZEKE MILLER, a reporter for The Associated Press, said in a statement. The individual had previously served in the protective pool on Monday and Tuesday.

In the primary, people would mock [Biden], like, You think you can work with Republicans? Im not saying theyre not a bunch of fuckers. Mitch McConnell is terrible. But this sense that you couldnt wish for that, you couldnt wish for this bipartisan ideal? He rejected that.

JEN OMALLEY DILLON, Biden campaign manager and incoming deputy chief of staff, to Glamour.

Biden considering Diana Taylor to lead Small Business Administration (The New York Times)

Biden might tap Iger, Katzenberg for ambassadorships (The Hollywood Reporter)

Ocasio-Cortez on the Goldman veterans on Bidens agency review teams: Its horrible (The Intercept)

A message from Facebook:

Its time for updated regulations to improve privacy standards

We continue to take action to build privacy into our products and give people the tools to help manage their privacy like Privacy Checkup and Off-Facebook Activity.

But theres more to do. We support updated internet regulations to improve privacy standards.

Read more

See the article here:
Obama's third term? Try Hillary's first - POLITICO - Politico