From The Last Republicans:
Afterward, the president-elect, Barbara, George W., Laura, and Barbara and Jenna boarded Air Force One to return to Washington. If Barbara Bush had any glamorous illusions about her new station as first lady in waiting, they dissipated when she rolled up her sleeves to remove wads of toilet paper her seven-year-old twin grandchildren had mischievously jammed into one of the plane’s toilets.
And from The Fight of his Life: The Biden White House:
Presidential transitions are herculean exercises. That’s why Biden’s team needed to start so early. More than 200 members of the incoming White House staff needed to be picked and readied to govern; 1,200 officials chosen and prepped for confirmation by the Senate; another 1,100, who don’t require confirmation, recruited, vetted, and hired; executive orders written, tabletop crisis exercises conducted. Kaufman explained: “If you went to a corporate CEO and said, ‘We’re going to take away the very top managers in your organization. And then we’re going to bring in a whole new team that has to go through an incredibly complicated selection process. Now let’s make it the most complex organization in the history of the world. And then let’s say that every one of your enemies around the world knows you’re at your most vulnerable when you’re turning it over.’ Are you kidding? They’d laugh at you.”
Yes, I’m afraid the presidential kick is still ongoing.
Both of these sound like fascinating reads.
They both were, but both were marred to a degree — especially the latter. Unlike his first book, Gatekeepers, Fight of his Life is overtly and very narrowly partisan. They’re both establishment-friendly books, but Fight is practically bootlicking.