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

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When GABE AMO announced in April that he was entering the crowded Democratic primary race to replace outgoing Rhode Island Rep. DAVID CICILLINE, his decision was met with a chorus of support from Biden world.

Then-White House senior adviser JULIE CHÁVEZ RODRÍGUEZ gave a rare on the record quote praising Amo as “the heart and soul of our operation.” Former deputy press secretary TJ DUCKLO shared Amo’s campaign announcement video on Twitter, as did JEN O’MALLEY DILLON’s longtime assistant THOMAS WINSLOW. ALEX YUDELSON, former executive secretary of the Domestic Policy Council, tweeted: “Literally cannot think of a better public servant to represent Rhode Island in Congress.”

Amo, who up until a few months ago was a special assistant to President JOE BIDEN and deputy director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, is the first Biden White House alum to run for federal office. He is viewed across the administration as a team player who cared about his home state (he was a one-time adviser to GINA RAIMONDO when she was governor of Rhode Island).

More to the point, his entry in the race marked an opportunity for Biden world to showcase the strength of its network, even within a crowded field that includes Lieutenant Governor SABINA MATOS, who is considered the not-overwhelming favorite to win the seat.

“Gabe is one of the most well-known and respected people to have worked here. As competent as it gets, and he always went the extra mile for his colleagues,” said a White House staffer.

So it struck some White House staffers as odd when a few weeks after Amo launched his campaign, MICHAEL LAROSA, the former press secretary for first lady JILL BIDEN, announced that he was consulting for another candidate in the race, NICK AUTIELLO, a former Raimondo aide at the state’s Commerce Corp.

It’s not unusual for former colleagues to find themselves on opposing sides in a crowded primary race. But even still, some White House staffers complained that there was no need for LaRosa to get involved. They were frustrated by LaRosa’s willingness to tout his own White House connections to help another candidate in the race. They also felt like the framing of Autiello as an “historic” candidate (he would be the second openly gay member of Congress to succeed another openly gay member) was unfair to Amo, who, if elected, would be the first Black person to represent Rhode Island in Congress.

Since leaving the White House, LaRosa has not shied away from offering candid assessments of the administration, even on sensitive subjects (as he’s done in this newsletter before). Although LaRosa remains close with the first lady and members of the Biden family, his public comments have rubbed some West Wing staffers the wrong way and his decision to get involved in the Rhode Island race was viewed as yet another example of his unwillingness to toe the administration’s line.

But there are also clear reasons why LaRosa might have been drawn to the race. He’s a Cicilline alum and a longtime friend of Providence’s mayor, BRETT SMILEY. LaRosa is also gay and has been vocal about supporting LGBTQ candidates. On top of that, he wasn’t the first person with Biden connections to join the Autiello campaign. Biden pollster CELINDA LAKE signed on to consult with the campaign earlier this year.

When asked about his decision to work for Autiello, LaRosa said he was excited about the candidate and the opportunity to work with Lake. “I know how highly the president and the first lady think of Celinda, who was one of our pollsters on the 2020 campaign,” he said. “She worked closely with our team, conducting our focus groups and providing Dr. Biden and our team with expert message guidance. So, when asked, I was happy to join a group of accomplished consultants already advising Nick’s campaign.”

The frustration directed at LaRosa, in the end, seems more about lingering animus from past conflicts than a genuine concern that he might end up spoiling Amo’s chances. Although there’s no public polling available on the Sept. 5 primary race, Amo is consistently talked about in local media as one of the top-tier candidates. While Boston Globe columnist DAN MCGOWAN gave him 15-1 odds for winning, Autiello came in at 40-1.

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TATTE TAKEOVER: Posting community notices in the town square is hardly a new phenomenon. But Thursday marked the first time activists seeking the attention of Biden administration officials pasted signs at the new White House clubhouse: Tatte.

Individuals who don’t want student loan payments to resume were out bright and early (too early for morning buns, we’re told) pasting yellow and pink signs to the lamppost on the corner outside the all day cafe’s doors, which MELISSA BYRNE tweeted (before she got the shakshuka). The notices are signed: “Xoxo, 45 million borrowers and our friends and family.” But, alas, they were removed from the lamppost before the afternoon rush hour.

We have also reached the point where Tatte attendees are sending in their own “spotteds” (we appreciate you MICHAEL SHEAR!). And, perhaps, the hubbub inside is becoming too much for some. Infrastructure coordinator MITCH LANDRIEU walked up toward the front door Thursday, gazed in, and walked away.

THE JOE AND RISHI SHOW: Biden met at the White House Thursday with British Prime Minister RISHI SUNAK, their fourth engagement in as many months. At a joint press conference, the two leaders were noticeably warm and deferential to one another, with Sunak crediting Washington’s defense aid to Ukraine as “the decisive contribution” in halting Russia’s offensive and a critical investment in Europe’s long-term security. Biden, for his part, backed Sunak’s push to tackle artificial intelligence issues and suggested he wasn’t ruling out British Defense Minister BEN WALLACE’s long-shot candidacy to serve as NATO’s next secretary general.

Biden also made a bit of news in response to a question about rising LGBTQ discrimination from PBS NewsHour’s LAURA BARRÓN-LÓPEZ (a friend of the newsletter, though she’ll never admit it). The president blasted anti-LGBTQ initiatives and threats of violence as “prejudiced” and “wrong,” and highlighted several new administration initiatives to address the issue.

WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: This piece by USA Today’s MICHAEL COLLINS about new steps the Biden administration is taking to protect the LGBTQ community. Collins writes that the administration is rolling out a program to help train LGBTQ community centers and businesses “to respond to ‘worst-case’ scenarios, such as bomb threats, active shooters and cybersecurity attacks.” The administration will also release $1.7 million for new federal programs aimed at addressing health and mental health of LGBTQ youth. White House communications director BEN LABOLT tweeted out the piece.

WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: This piece by WSJ’s ANDREW RESTUCCIA and GABRIEL T. RUBIN about the fate of the president’s student loan cancellation plan. “While White House officials maintain publicly they are confident the Supreme Court will uphold the program, some in the administration have expressed concerns in private that the conservative majority will kill it,” they write, adding that administration officials have “been discussing policy options that could help the tens of millions of borrowers who are at risk of not getting the loan forgiveness that Biden promised.”

EVERYONE’S A CRITIC: With smoke from Canadian wildfires blanketing the eastern seaboard, Newsmax anchor GREG KELLY dismissed concerns about air quality as “woke,” calling the problem “manageable” and praising the smoke itself. “It is pretty, it actually is pretty,” Kelly said.

The bit (we’re mildly confident it’s a bit) was too much for the White House press shop to abide. “Idiocracy,” LaBolt tweeted in response to a clip of Kelly. Deputy press secretary ANDREW BATES, really leaning into his punchy side these days, replied: “Stay tuned while Greg bongs a gallon of mercury.”

FIRST IN WEST WING PLAYBOOK: JOHANNY ADAMES is now press secretary for higher ed for the Office of Communications and Outreach at the Department of Education, DANIEL LIPPMAN has learned. She most recently was communications director and senior adviser at the Latino Victory Project. SEAN SIBLEY is now press secretary for K-12 for the Office of Communications and Outreach at the Department of Education. He most recently was press secretary for Sen. GARY PETERS (D-Mich.).

— JOBIE CRAWFORD is now press assistant for the vice president. She most recently was a researcher at the White House.

— SASHWATA GOSWAMI has been detailed to be director of preparedness and response for the resilience and response directorate at the NSC. He most recently was senior adviser in the office of the administrator at FEMA.

THE END OF THE CZARS: The president thanked outgoing Covid-19 response coordinator ASHISH JHA for his year of service in a statement Thursday. “He has effectively translated and communicated complex scientific challenges into concrete actions that helped save and improve the lives of millions of Americans.” Our DAVID LIM and ADAM CANCRYN have more details, including how this brings to an informal end the era of a single executive official tasked with coordinating the Covid response.

BERNER, OUT. ORTHMAN, IN: KRISTEN ORTHMAN, the Dunkin-coffee addled DNC’s communications director and a veteran of ELIZABETH WARREN’S 2020 campaign, will be the administration’s next deputy communications director. She’ll take over for KATE BERNER, who’s had that job since Biden took office. In a tweet, Orthman said she’s “honored and excited” to join the White House comms shop and thanked Berner, “a wonderful friend and ally.”

WHAT’S UP NEXT: After agreeing to send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, lawmakers are putting pressure on the Biden administration to send controversial long-range munitions, also known as the Army Tactical Missile System, to bolster the nation’s counteroffensive, our LARA SELIGMAN and JOE GOULD report. Nearly a year ago, National Security Adviser JAKE SULLIVAN expressed hesitation about the move, warning that sending those munitions could start a third World War. But the president recently signaled he might be open to sending ATACMS, saying in May the option is “still in play.”

BAD NEWS FOR SYPHILIS: The Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday released a plan for “combating sexually transmitted infections — which have climbed to record rates over the past few years,” our ALICE MIRANDA OLLSTEIN reports for Pro subscribers. “The initiative sets new goals for increasing the number of children and teens vaccinated for HPV, lowering rates of gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis, and boosting condom use among high school students.”

Biden levels accusations of ‘prejudice’ behind anti-LGBTQ laws (Politico’s Kelly Garrity)

Opinion: Biden’s Age, and His Achievements (NYT Letters to the Editor)

Cuba to Host Secret Chinese Spy Base Focusing on U.S. (WSJ’s Warren P. Strobel and Gordon Lubold)

President WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT worked “in the first iteration of the Oval Office” back in 1909. It has been the president’s main office ever since, according to the White House Historical Association.

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

Edited by Eun Kyung Kim and Sam Stein.