G’morning. A few MEADOWS thoughts from Playbook this morning ….
MEADOWS, the new WH COS, has a knack for hatching plans to solve problems. The catch is sometimes they’ve been problems at least partially of his own making: govt shutdowns he egged on, health care bills he scuttled and leadership brawls that he, at least tacitly, encouraged
YOU MIGHT @RepMarkMeadows has sometimes played both the arsonist and the fire brigade.
@RepMarkMeadows MEADOWS is entering a job where his problem-solving mettle will be put to the absolute test. TRUMP faces a nasty trio of problems: a virus outbreak spiraling out of control, an economy that’s flagging and, all on top of that, a re-election campaign that’s getting into full swing.
@RepMarkMeadows WH COS for TRUMP is a job that is perfectly suited for how MEADOWS sees himself. It’s made for a savvy strategist who can operate behind the scenes, manage a Game of Thrones-like environment and occasionally burst into the limelight to defend the president and blast his enemies.
It’s long overdue that TRUMP made this move, since he’s been listening to MEADOWS over PAUL RYAN and other party stalwarts for years.
MEADOWS’ DETRACTORS -- and, yes, there are some, mostly in the GOP -- see this job as the ultimate moment that will finally reveal him as a top-notch fraud who couldn’t find his way out of a wet paper bag.
MEADOWS DOES HAVE considerable talents he can deploy here. Even people who don’t like him acknowledge his deep relationships in Washington, and his uncanny understanding of how the levers of power work.
He understands the small tokens that can be distributed to win lawmakers’ support and loyalty -- and can find his way to temporarily trading or loaning his ideology to achieve a larger end.
People make a lot of MEADOWS’ relationship with the widely respected ELIJAH CUMMINGS. That relationship is instructive of his across-the-aisle bonds. CUMMINGS didn’t see MEADOWS as a saint. But the late Democrat saw MEADOWS for what he was: an operator who was open for business.
MEADOWS has a relationship with STENY HOYER, which will be useful for him. His relationship with KEVIN MCCARTHY is, well, how to put this lightly? It’s complicated, but at this point it’s functional.
MEADOWS, more than anything, understands DC's power games, how to play them to maximum impact and what they actually mean. …
E BIG QUESTIONS that need to be answered before understanding whether this is the right fit for MEADOWS. TRUMP viewed MEADOWS as the keeper of his creed on Capitol Hill. Will TRUMP view him as an aide or as a quasi-principal who still has independent power of his own?
MUCH INK HAS BEEN SPILLED about the revolving door at the White House, and how it’s impossible to keep power in TRUMP’S White House.
MEADOWS is more like POMPEO than MULVANEY or KELLY: He’s not going to lecture TRUMP, but he’ll work to try to channel his impulses into some version of reality.
IF HE SURVIVES the next 60 days, that could help the country as it grapples with a real, and to many alarming, crisis of governance. AND it could put MEADOWS in TRUMP’S good graces and finally give the president the chief of staff he has wanted
