© Provided by Washington Examiner President Biden will focus his first prime-time address since taking office on the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic in remarks that will "level" with the country about the remainder of his plan to defeat the virus.
Biden's Thursday speech from the East Room of the White House will come one year after the first coronavirus shutdown and a day before he is expected to sign his $1.9 coronavirus spending package into law.
The president plans to highlight the sacrifices Americans have endured during the last twelve months, the lives altered by the continued health and economic crises, and the more than half a million lives lost, according to a senior White House official.
Biden will also tout the scale of the response, which he has called a "war effort," while laying out the next steps in his pandemic response.
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A West Wing official described the undertaking so far as the greatest operational challenge faced by the nation, noting the deployment of emergency vaccinations sites, an uptick in the number of vaccinations issued and increased access to vaccinators.
The president will "level with the American people about what is still required to defeat the virus and provide a hopeful vision of what is possible if we all come together," the official said.
Biden's total remarks should last about 20 minutes, the White House said.
The president is not expected to mention former President Donald Trump, who signed the first two coronavirus spending bills into law and in a statement Wednesday, urged people to remember his efforts to stand up a vaccine.
After passing the $1.9 trillion spending package, Biden is scheduled to sign his landmark bill during a White House ceremony Friday.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are next set to embark on a road show, billed informally as the "Help is Here Tour" in an internal White House memo obtained Wednesday by the Washington Examiner.
"We're going to make sure the American people know tangibly what the Rescue Plan means for them," wrote Jennifer O'Malley Dillon, Biden's deputy chief of staff.
Biden and Harris are "hitting the road," as surrogates and senior officials appear "on local TV in markets around America," including in red states.
While the American Rescue Plan failed to garner any Republican votes, the package has bipartisan support across the country, according to numerous polls.
Speaking at the White House this week, Biden said he planned "to talk about what comes next" during his speech Thursday.
"We can do big things, important things, in this country," he added, appearing to echo author Glennon Doyle, who O'Malley Dillon and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer referenced following the presidential election and two Senate runoffs in Georgia.
It's not yet clear how the White House will overcome the political and procedural hurdles awaiting the president's next legislative package.
West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat, has said he will not allow Biden's infrastructure package to pass through reconciliation, a Senate procedural budget tool allows some legislation to forgo the usual 60-vote threshold, as it did with the spending measure. That meant Democrats were able to pass the sprawling bill with no GOP votes.
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Biden's infrastructure bill would therefore need the backing of at least 10 Republican Senators.
Tags: News, White House, Biden Administration, Joe Biden, Coronavirus
Original Author: Katherine Doyle
Original Location: In first prime-time address, Biden to 'level' with Americans on COVID-19 next steps