Top Biden officials plan post-State of the Union travel blitz

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By Betsy Klein, CNN

Top Biden administration officials, including President Joe Biden himself, are hitting the road in the days after the State of the Union address, fanning out across the country to amplify aspects of his agenda highlighted in the speech, the White House told CNN exclusively.

“They will travel to red states, blue states, big cities, small towns, rural areas, Tribal communities, and more to showcase how the Biden-Harris Administration is delivering results and changing lives for the better,” a White House official said.

The travel, the official added, “will highlight the President’s mission to unite the country around issues where there has historically been support from both Republicans and Democrats,” including his Tuesday evening remarks on mental health, the opioid epidemic, ending cancer, supporting veterans and rebuilding infrastructure.

Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Cabinet officials will travel across the Midwest and East Coast of the US in the coming days.

On Wednesday, Biden is set to deliver remarks on the bipartisan infrastructure bill and highlight its impacts on roads and bridges in Superior, Wisconsin, alongside first lady Jill Biden and infrastructure implementation chief Mitch Landrieu.

Vice President Kamala Harris will join Labor Secretary Marty Walsh in Durham, North Carolina, to discuss “investments in workers to create good-paying, union jobs,” per the White House.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will discuss economic growth in Chicago. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland will travel to Connecticut to outline investments in Tribal communities from the bipartisan infrastructure bill. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan will promote water infrastructure in Easley, South Carolina.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will head to Boston for remarks on semiconductor chips. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge will promote housing affordability in Suitland, Maryland. And Small Business Administration Administrator Isabella Guzman will tout manufacturing investments from the Covid relief bill in Baltimore.

And on Friday, Haaland is set to join Landrieu in Ohio to discuss efforts to clean up legacy pollution. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona will address Biden’s mental health agenda during a school visit in Boston and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra will tackle the same topic in New Hampshire. Guzman will also travel to New York to discuss the Covid relief and bipartisan infrastructure bills.

As he marked one year in office, Biden told reporters he wanted to spend more time traveling in the year ahead of the midterm elections and selling his policies directly to the American people.

“I’m going to get out of this place more often. I’m going to go out and talk to the public. I’m going to do public fora. I’m going to interface with them. I’m going to make the case of what we’ve already done, why it’s important, and what we’ll do if — what will happen if they support what else I want to do,” he said at a January press conference.

But the Russian invasion of Ukraine has taken much of his attention in recent weeks, curbing his ability to travel as he has stayed in town to address the unfolding crisis.

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