White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients has been quietly calling members of President Biden’s Cabinet to deliver a subtle message: If you plan to leave, please do so in the next few months.

Why it matters: Biden’s Cabinet will play a key role in his re-election campaign, as he contrasts his accomplishments with what’s likely to be a nasty fight among GOP contenders. Republicans will be eager to tweak the White House, so Biden’s team wants to avoid any confirmation battles in an election year. …

Republicans are looking for ways to draw attention to what they view as Biden’s biggest policy failures. A Senate confirmation fight over a Cabinet post would give them that chance — and could force vulnerable Senate Democrats to take a potentially difficult vote.

[It may already be too late. The time to reshuffle the Cabinet was in December or January. Now that the GOP primary has essentially gotten under way, any changes will be amplified and votes more difficult, especially since Democrats have to rely on Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema to get to 51 in the Senate. And let’s not forget about the forgetful Dianne Feinstein and the lack of reliability of her continued attendance in the Senate chamber. That means any nominee will have to look centrist enough to pass muster, and that means the progressive wing dictating policy in the Democrat Party will pitch fits. — Ed]