Joe Biden and his Cabinet plan to criss-cross the country after his State of the Union address to tout his economic agenda as the president gears up to announce his reelection bid.
(Bloomberg) — Joe Biden and his Cabinet plan to criss-cross the country after his State of the Union address to tout his economic agenda as the president gears up to announce his reelection bid.
Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Cabinet secretaries are scheduled to visit 20 states and host more than 30 events over two days in what the White House is calling a post-address “blitz.” The president is expected to use the State of the Union to highlight his efforts to create jobs, bring down inflation and fix the nation’s infrastructure, the White House said.
“The economic travel blitz showcases how the president’s vision is creating jobs, rebuilding our infrastructure, lowering costs for families, tackling climate change, investing in our future and delivering for families too often left behind,” the White House said in a statement.
Biden on Wednesday will visit Wisconsin to speak about job creation, while Harris is scheduled to speak in Atlanta about the administration’s clean-energy programs.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will visit a battery manufacturing facility in Tennessee, while Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will meet with industry leaders in New York City and hold a roundtable at the New York Stock Exchange to discuss implementation of the new law designed to spur domestic semiconductor manufacturing.
On Thursday, Biden will speak about his plan to lower health care and prescription drug costs and defend Social Security and Medicare in Tampa, Florida. Harris is traveling to St. Cloud, Minnesota, to highlight investments in electric vehicles.
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm in Carson City, Nevada, will make an announcement on a loan for a battery manufacturing facility. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will tout a $150 million grant to replace a highway bridge in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh is participating at an event on the Black workforce in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Other Cabinet secretaries plan to travel to speak about infrastructure investments, veterans hiring and education costs, among other issues. The travel push was first reported by the Associated Press.
The White House is seeking to focus this year on implementing Biden’s legislative achievements, as the hopes of passing major new initiatives dimmed with Republicans in control of the House of Representatives. Making sure the public is aware of his accomplishments will also be critical to Biden’s attempt to win a second term.
Biden has yet to officially announce his 2024 campaign, but a launch is expected in the spring. The president has held campaign-style events promoting his bipartisan infrastructure law this year in Baltimore, New York City and the Cincinnati area.
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