President Joe Biden on Monday afternoon is due to make a speech on the U.S. economy, with the remarks coming before meetings with lawmakers on Wednesday and Thursday about his plans for big spending on infrastructure and social programs.
Biden, scheduled to speak at 1:15 p.m. Eastern, is continuing to present his case for his $ 2.3 trillion American Jobs Plan and $ 1.8 trillion American Families Plan. Following a weaker-than-expected jobs report on Friday, he said there’s still much to be done to get Americans back to work as the country recovers from the COVID-19 crisis.
The Democratic president is slated to meet Wednesday with the Republican Party’s top two U.S. lawmakers, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, along with the top two congressional Democrats, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
“They will discuss policy areas of mutual agreement and identify common ground on which they can work together and deliver results on the challenges facing American families,” the White House said in a statement.
He’s then due to huddle on infrastructure on Thursday with a group of six Republican senators led by Sen. Shelley Capito of West Virginia.
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Biden also was having individual meetings on Monday with Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Democratic Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware, according to the White House.
U.S. stocks SPX, +0.04% traded mostly higher Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.82% topping 35,000 for the first time as Friday’s disappointing jobs report was viewed as keeping the Federal Reserve from considering an eventual tightening of monetary policy.