An undercover video released by O’Keefe Media suggests Jeff Zeints, the White House Chief of Staff, wields significant influence in the Biden administration and is seen as the “second most powerful person” in Washington.
The video also indicates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton remain involved behind the scenes.
“Keefe Media Uncovers who is really running the White House. Undercover cameras catch Special Advisor @SBAgov call former @facebook Board Member @WHCOS @ZientsJeff27574 ‘the second most powerful person in Washington’ where ‘whatever this guy says, it’s what the President says.’ Asked by OMG’s American Swiper Citizen Journalist ‘is Jeff [Zeints] more powerful than Kamala,’ Robinson confirms ‘Yeah,'” James O’Keefe reported.
BREAKING: O’Keefe Media Uncovers who is really running the White House. Undercover cameras catch Special Advisor @SBAgov call former @facebook Board Member @WHCOS @ZientsJeff27574 “the second most powerful person in Washington” where “whatever this guy says, it’s what the… pic.twitter.com/vLeollXEFX
— James O'Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) April 17, 2024
“@VP @KamalaHarris. Robinson also states that @BarackObama and @HillaryClinton are still involved behind the scenes at the White House. Tyler Robinson, Special Advisor to the Chief of Staff of Administrator @SBAIsabel Guzman, details how @WhiteHouse directs @SBAIsabel Guzman to campaign for @POTUS so constantly that ‘[Guzman] is the most traveled member of the cabinet. Like pretty much every week.’ Under the guise of talking to small business owners, Guzman travels across the country to help elect Democrats – especially swing state Democrats like @SenatorTester: ‘The White House was like, yes, go. Invite Senator Tester. Don’t invite the other Senator because he’s a Republican. And don’t invite the two members of Congress because they’re Republicans,'” O’Keefe wrote.
“Such actions may be considered potential violations of the Hatch Act, which restricts federal employees from taking an active part in partisan political management and forbids them from campaigning for or against candidates. Robinson says Guzman acts ‘as a spokesperson for Biden’ as ‘…we try to visit with a member of Congress if they’re a Democrat…Just because then we can help them get re-elected as well.'”
A White House official confirmed Obama and Biden speak regularly but did not disclose details.
“How involved is former President Obama and first lady Obama in the Biden-Harris administration?” Chris Johnson of the Washington Blade questioned MSNBC’s Jen Psaki.
“They’re not just former colleagues,” Psaki said, “I guess you’d call them as president and vice president, but they also remain close friends, and they talk regularly about a range of issues from policy issues to bouncing ideas off of each other to their families. So, they are in close touch but we just don’t read out those specific calls. We keep them private.”
Previous reporting also outlined Obama hosting private strategy sessions with Democratic lawmakers, signaling his ongoing advisory role.
“Former President Barack Obama has hosted a handful of informal, but lengthy private meetings with groups of next-generation House Democrats this spring, I’m told by multiple attendees,” Politico’s Jonathan Martin wrote. “The initial session featured the chamber’s new trio of leaders, but he then held subsequent conversations with a range of lawmakers.”
“Included were progressive members, like Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), as well as more moderate lawmakers, such as Mike Sherrill (D-N.J.) and Haley Stevens (D-Mich.).”
“The gatherings were Obama’s idea, I’m told, and were designed for the now-61-year-old former president to keep current with his party’s rising stars, more than six years after he left office,” Martin added.
“The sessions, which took place over cheese and crackers in Obama’s Washington office, are striking for a number of reasons,” Martin wrote. “For starters, he rarely took much of an interest in counseling lawmakers when he was president,” he contends. “And while he reliably shows up on the stump each year for a number of Democrats, he’s hardly played the role of party power broker since leaving office. Podcasts, documentaries, his foundation and, yes, golf in Hawaii and on Martha’s Vineyard have taken precedence.”
While the full extent of Obama’s influence is unknown given the private nature of his talks with Biden, the video and other reports collectively point to Obama maintaining an influential role and Zeints emerging as a key decision-maker and conduit within the Biden White House.
