Chris Crucial: This Biden critique is coming from inside the (White) House!!!! 👻

PLUS: Mike Johnson loses (again)

Welcome to Chris Crucial. This nightly newsletter — in which I summarize all the political news you need to know from the day — is for paid subscribers only. Not one yet? Today is your day! Join us! It’s just $7 a month or $70 for the year!

1. Klain goes off: Two things are true about the Biden White House: 1) They are a loyal bunch and 2) They don’t take kindly to criticism from within their own party.

Those two facts ran directly into each other on Tuesday night when former Biden White House chief of staff Ron Klain went off script. Bigly.

Speaking in Washington, Klain blasted Biden for his focus on infrastructure projects like bridges.

“I think the president is out there too much talking about bridges,” Klain said according to audio of his remarks obtained by Politico. “He does two or three events a week where he’s cutting a ribbon on a bridge. … You go to the grocery store and, you know, eggs and milk are expensive, the fact that there’s a fucking bridge is not [inaudible].”

Added Klain: “He’s not a congressman. He’s not running for Congress. I think it’s kind of a fool’s errand. I think that [it] also doesn’t get covered that much because, look, it’s a fucking bridge. Like it’s a bridge, and how interesting is the bridge? It’s a little interesting but it’s not a lot interesting.”

Which, relatedly:

Before dismissing Klain —as Democrats will jump to do — it’s worth considering the source. Not only was he Biden’s first White House chief of staff, he is also a longtime confidante of the president. He was Biden’s vice presidential chief of staff from 2009-2111. Klain has also served as Assistant to President Bill Clinton and as Al Gore’s vice presidential chief of staff.

In short: This is a serious guy. Without an ax to grind with Biden. Or a buck to make off of him. Quite the opposite, in fact. Klain has been a reliable Democratic soldier for a very long time. So, when he voices a critique, it’s worth listening to.