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

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PROGRAMMING NOTE: We’ll be off this Monday for Memorial Day but will be back in your inbox on Tuesday, May 28. We hope absence makes the heart grow fonder.

When JOE BIDEN selected Wilmington, Delaware, as his reelection campaign headquarters, young Democratic operatives were less than thrilled, as this newsletter has documented.

Democratic staffers grumbled about the city’s sleepy nightlife and mediocre restaurant scene. Many had held out hope that the president would go with Philadelphia or D.C. instead.

There was also a more … primal … concern. After Covid kept many of their dating lives on hold, few felt optimistic about their prospects of finding love in a city that isn’t exactly teeming with other young singles.

But campaign staffers have given it a go, embracing some of the city’s culinary offerings, becoming regulars at BrewHaHa, spending mornings running along the riverfront and, yes, dipping their toes into the dating scene.

So how’s that going? Not great.

West Wing Playbook heard from approximately a dozen Biden staffers who’ve at least dabbled in the Delaware dating pool. While campaign staffers in long-distance relationships tend to rush to the Amtrak station on Fridays to go see their significant others, the rest of Biden’s team has been left to swipe on Hinge and try to see who they might meet at Trolley Square Tap House on a Saturday night.

But while working on a Democratic presidential campaign can give you some pull in Wilmington — and the absence of a sales tax in Delaware makes getting out there a bit easier on the wallet — there is one fundamental problem that staffers are confronting. The pool is too small.

With a population of 70,000 people, there are not that many eligible singles in Wilmington. It’s small enough that it’s creating some awkward pair-ups and laying the foundation for some weird office vibes.

“It’s not uncommon to find out that the date you’re going on has already been out with someone on your immediate team,” one campaign staffer said after just a few months on the Wilmington dating app scene.

There is also the problem that the campaign itself is growing and, by sheer mathematics, starting to make up a bigger share of Wilmington singles. A different Biden staffer said that shortly after joining the campaign (and before they knew most of their new colleagues), they started to explore the dating scene and wound up hitting it off with two different people. It took a few dates to piece together that both romantic prospects worked on the same team on the campaign.

“All is well now and it’s become a fun joke amongst the three of us,” the person said.

The dates themselves can also start to look the same. Another Biden staffer said that they found themselves in the exact same chair around the fire pit at Makers Alley, a trendy beer garden, on four different Hinge dates. A Gen-Z staffer offered another scathing review: “This is a city where I’m asked for my Snapchat more than is normal.”

And after several less than successful dates, one staffer put it this way: “Safe to say I will be committing my undivided attention to reelecting Joseph R. Biden.”

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POTUS PUZZLER

What did WARREN HARDING gamble away in a poker game?

(Answer at bottom.)

Photo of the Week

The Oval

THE VOW OF SILENCE SHALL BE BROKEN: Biden will publicly address the criminal trials DONALD TRUMP is facing when a verdict is reached, four people familiar with internal deliberations told our JONATHAN LEMIRE.

According to Lemire, “Biden intends to initially address the verdict in a White House setting — not a campaign one — to show his statement isn’t political.” If the jury convicts Trump, Biden’s team will then argue that the result shows Trump is ill-suited for office. There’s also this little chestnut: “The campaign’s social media team is considering leveraging the line of attack further, with discussions underway about referring to the ex-president online as ‘Convicted Felon Donald Trump.’”

Biden will also address the outcome if it’s an acquittal or a hung jury, while maintaining that the justice system worked as intended. That said, the reelect is preparing for a barrage of Republican and Trump attacks should the former president avoid a guilty plea.

ONE THING BIDEN WON'T BE ADDRESSING: President Biden plans to stay as far away as possible from the controversy surrounding Supreme Court Justice SAMUEL ALITO’s flag controversy, our ADAM CANCRYN reports. Biden has decried Republicans for undermining democratic norms, but aides say he is reluctant to extend that argument to the judicial branch, fearful it could be cast as politically motivated. Aides believe it’s crucial for him to maintain a clear contrast with Donald Trump, who regularly attacks judges.

As for progressives, let’s just say they would like a little more heat from POTUS.

VEEP GETS A BUMP: In a new Bloomberg/Morning Consult poll, nearly half of swing-state voters trust Vice President KAMALA HARRIS’ ability to fulfill the duties of the presidency if President Biden were no longer able to serve, Bloomberg’s AKAYLA GARDNER reports. The reading marks the highest level of confidence in Harris since the survey was first conducted in October. The uptick comes as Harris has held a series of high-profile events on key Democratic priorities — including a visit to an abortion clinic in Minnesota and a speech at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama.

Still, in a hypothetical head-to-head with Donald Trump, Harris trails the former president by 7 points, wider than the 4-point advantage Trump holds over Biden in the poll.

WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: This piece by CBS News’ CAMILO MONTOYA-GALVEZ about how illegal crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border are down dramatically since the record highs in December. According to internal government data obtained by CBS, illegal crossings have dropped 50 percent since December, as U.S. Border Patrol reported a daily average of 3,700 apprehensions in the first three weeks of May — down 54 percent from the 8,000 daily average six months ago. May is also expected to see the third straight month-over-month drop in unlawful border crossings.

Senior deputy press secretary ANDREW BATES and Biden campaign spokesperson JAMES SINGER shared the piece on X.

WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: This piece by our CHRISTINE MUI, who reports that one of President Biden’s signature laws, the CHIPS and Science Act, is being undermined by a group of lawmakers. In a March spending bill, appropriators in Congress quietly shifted $3.5 billion — money that the Commerce Department was hoping to use for grants — into a separate Pentagon program called Secure Enclave, which was not mentioned in the original law. Several members of Congress were surprised that the money was shifted to a project aimed to build chips in a special facility for defense and intelligence needs, worrying it will hurt the law’s other policy initiatives.

It’s already forcing the administration to change its plans. After the spending bill was passed, Commerce canceled a planned round of grants, and now, at least two companies are reconsidering their plans to build semiconductor research centers that depend on grant money.

SHOULD’VE BEEN THE LIONS: President Biden will welcome the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday, May 31 to celebrate their Super Bowl LVIII win, the White House announced. It marks the second visit from the team following their trip last June. Current odds of kicker HARRISON BUTKER showing up: 7-2.

CAMPAIGN HQ

YOU’RE OUT OF LINE, FOCKER: The Biden campaign released a new ad this morning, narrated by ROBERT DE NIRO, directly pointing to how Donald Trump “snapped” after losing the 2020 election. “We knew Trump was out of control when he was president,” De Niro says. “And then he lost the 2020 election and snapped.” The ad, which ran slightly shorter than "The Irishman," highlights how Trump wants “revenge,” pledging to be a dictator on Day One if elected and that there would be a “bloodbath” if he lost.

THE BUREAUCRATS

IN AN ELECTION YEAR?? After news that JON LOVETT will be a contestant on the upcoming season of “Survivor” broke the internet Wednesday, his fellow pod bros weighed in on today’s “Pod Save America” episode. “Many people have argued that in a critical election year where democracy hangs in the balance, the best place for Lovett would be on an island with no access to the internet,” said co-host DAN PFEIFFER.

JON FAVREAU suggested that Lovett will be busy canvassing on the island, of course. “Just out there trying to get every vote. Sure, for the tribal council. But also for Joe Biden."

TO AVOID A PART TWO: Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN will temporarily transfer powers to his deputy KATHLEEN HICKS on Friday evening for a scheduled medical procedure, our LARA SELIGMAN reports. The non-surgical procedure, which is elective and “minimally invasive,” is related to his previous bladder issue, not his diagnosis of prostate cancer. The Pentagon has notified the White House about the transfer of power.

Agenda Setting

PILING PRESSURE: The International Court of Justice on Friday ordered Israel to immediately halt its military operation into Rafah, citing an “immediate risk” to Palestinians, NBC’s CHANTAL DA SILVA reports. Judge NAWAF SALAM, president of the ICJ, said that Israel has failed to sufficiently address humanitarian concerns raised by its offensive. Israel is unlikely (to put it mildly) to comply with the order, which the ICJ has no power to enforce. Nonetheless, the ruling heightens pressure on the increasingly isolated nation.

The ruling came as CIA Director BILL BURNS met Friday with Mossad Director DAVID BARNEA and the Qatari Prime Minister MOHAMMED BIN ABDULRAHMAN BIN JASSIM AL THANI in Paris to continue ceasefire negotiations.

CWA, FTW: The Communications Workers of America, which represents some 700,000 tech and media workers, are in so-called labor peace agreement negotiations with Micron Technology that would cover the company’s $50 billion, two-factory investment in New York, Bloomberg’s MACKENZIE HAWKINS reports. As Hawkins writes, it’s a test for the Biden administration on whether it can deliver on its promise of a manufacturing boom that in turn boosts organized labor.

Under the agreement, CWA would not picket, strike or in any way disrupt Micron’s planned development in 2028 and 2029, and the company would not hire union-busting consultants or interfere with the union’s organizing.

What We're Reading

Biden’s Critics On The Left Should Rethink The Concept of ‘Leverage’ (Brian Beutler via Substack)

Bidenism Is Gasping in America. It’s Having a Moment in Britain. (POLITICO’s Alexander Burns)

A Polling Risk for Trump (NYT’s Nate Cohn)

The Ugly Truth Behind Ticketmaster’s Lawsuit (Slate’s Alex Kirshner)

POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER

A notorious gambler, Harding once lost a set of White House china on a single hand. ALICE ROOSEVELT LONGWORTH once described the poker games that Harding would host: “the air heavy with tobacco smoke, trays with bottles containing every imaginable brand of whiskey … a general atmosphere of waistcoat unbuttoned, feet on the desk, and spittoons alongside.”

A CALL OUT! Do you think you have a harder trivia question? Send us your best one about the presidents, with a citation or sourcing, and we may feature it!

Edited by Sam Stein and Mike DeBonis.