POLITICO Playbook Daily Briefing
JMart’s latest column is hot off the presses and already blowing up group chats on Capitol Hill: “Sinema Trashes Dems: ‘Old Dudes Eating Jell-O’”
As her fundraising efforts plow forward, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) “has used a series of Republican-dominated receptions and retreats this year to belittle her Democratic colleagues, shower her GOP allies with praise and, in one case, quite literally give the middle finger to President Biden’s White House,” Martin writes. “Speaking in private, whether one-on-one or with small groups of Republican senators, she’s even more cutting, particularly about Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, whom she derides in harshly critical terms, according to senior Republican officials directly familiar with her comments.”
White House chief of staff Jeff Zients has been President Joe Biden's top aide for less than two months — and grumbling has already erupted both inside and outside the administration over whether he’s up to the job.
In a story out this morning, Adam Cancryn, Eugene and Nicholas Wu spoke with 16 administration officials, lawmakers and others with knowledge of internal White House dynamics, and found widespread concerns “over whether Zients has the political instincts and Capitol Hill relationships to deftly navigate a crucial period ahead of Biden’s anticipated reelection run.”
And, tech reporter Rebecca Kern stops by for a preview of TikTok CEO Shou Chew's hearing before the House Energy and Commerce committee.