Good evening,

Welcome back to The Washington Mall, which by now you well know is my insider’s account of what’s really going on in this town. Thanks for supporting Puck. You’ll need a subscription to read my work, so sign up here if you haven’t already. It’s worth every penny.

Tonight I’m focused on the surprisingly tense relationship between Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, who despite the many nicknames tying them together, are not in fact D.C.’s Bennifer. It’s a story about how politics makes for strange, ephemeral bedfellows—and antagonists.

But first, here are a few things I’m hearing around town…

• Anita Dunn, the former lobbyist-turned-White House aide (redux redux), gets supremely sensitive about the impression that there’s a revolving door between her namesake firm, SKDK, and the Biden administration. Nevertheless, as Dunn leads a reorganization of the White House comms department from Cedric Richmond’s old office in the West Wing, she is interviewing...

Can’t see the full story? You're receiving the free version of The Washington Mall at . For full access to Puck, and to each of my colleagues, you can subscribe here.

Not surprisingly, this was, of course, a massive oversimplification and an incorrect lumping together of two very different, and largely misunderstood characters. Personality-wise, the two are practically antithetical. While they both crave being the center of attention, they have vastly different approaches. Sinema takes herself seriously and is constantly endeavoring to be substantive, showing up to meetings prepared with spreadsheets, data points, and typically thoughtful questions. She ducks the Capitol Hill press in a manner that makes it appear that she is terrified of them, whereas Manchin will often hold court with his favorite reporters...