Axios interview: Jeff Zients says Biden will "finish the job" with five-month sprint
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Jeff Zients (right) laughs with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer during the White House Congressional Picnic on the South Lawn in June. Photo: Al Drago/Pool via Reuters
White House chief of staff Jeff Zients tells Axios that President Biden is determined to make his final five months in office — 154½ days! — as productive as any five months of his presidency.
Why it matters: "The president's belief is that every single day matters," Zients told Axios in an interview ahead of Biden's valedictory address to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago tonight.
- "We're going to finish the job as strong as we started it and continue to make history together."
Zoom in: Zients recalled that when Biden called from Rehoboth Beach on that fateful Sunday, July 21, to tell him he was dropping his bid for re-election, the president spent one minute on the decision and "the rest of the call talking about ... the six months that were left when he made that call."
- Zients said Biden is looking for new policy openings "both to get things done and put a stake in the ground in the future."
- Look for action on issues personally important to Biden, including veterans, cancer and AI.
Zients singled out four big areas where Biden plans to run to the tape:
- "Continued aggressive implementation of the historic legislative accomplishments," including the CHIPS and Science Act and infrastructure bill, "and getting more projects launched and completed [across] the whole country — urban, suburban, rural, tribal communities."
- "Lowering costs for families. ... You should expect more on student debt relief. You should expect more on junk fees and anything we can do to make Americans' lives more affordable."
- "Personal freedoms and civil rights. ... We're going to keep protecting reproductive health-care access, and keep calling out hate and extremism."
- "Continuing to restore America's position as the indispensable nation. ... The president is very focused on securing a hostage deal on a cease-fire in the Middle East, helping Ukraine defend itself, and to keep outcompeting China and investing more and more in our alliances."
The big picture: Zients, previewing the case aides will make as they begin framing the president's legacy this fall, says Biden has done more in the past 3½ years than many presidents did in two terms.
- "I certainly know where we were on COVID: We were flat on our back. ... Directly related to that, the economy was in a deep recession. ... We had just gone through ... an insurrection led by a defeated president. And on the world stage, we were really isolated and not playing the role that America traditionally plays."
- "Then you jump forward to today and we have the strongest economy in the world, bar none ... record small-business filings ... lowest average unemployment of any administration in 50 years. Violent crime rate at a 50-year low."
- "The world is a complex place, but our alliances are strong. The president rallied the world to stand up to Putin. NATO's expanded. We're outcompeting China. We're bringing detained Americans home. So quite a 3½-year stretch."
Behind the scenes: Zients said Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris talk most days. Sometimes when she's on the road, for instance, she'll call in for the President's Daily Brief, then stay and chat with him afterward.
- "So it's hectic," Zients added. "It's as hectic as any period that we've had here."
Between the lines: We asked Zients, a former entrepreneur and CEO, how he keeps his team motivated. He's been roaming around the West Wing, East Wing and Eisenhower Executive Office Building to meet with aides and answer questions.
- "I'm communicating a lot," he said. "Every day we keep moving the dial to make people's lives better. And that's what motivates people. ... People know that they're having a real impact ... Talking about the forward agenda and celebrating the victories is key."
As to making sure enough people stay, Zients said: "I have a good sense of all the senior folks who are joining together and running across the finish line together."
- "I talk a lot about the responsibility of a leader is to be optimistic, to believe that good things can happen, because optimism is sort of a depreciating asset in an organization," he added. "People look up to their leaders. And if their leaders don't believe, then they don't believe. Now, it's not just blind optimism. It's optimism coupled with a credible plan."
