Top American Officials Reportedly Plan Blitz Tour to Tout How Biden is ‘Delivering' for Middle Class

As meetings with world leaders at the G7 and NATO summits in Germany and Spain currently top US President Joe Biden’s international agenda, on the home front his public approval rating fell for a fourth straight week to 36%, matching its lowest level of late May, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll.

Senior officials of Joe Biden’s administration are about to set out on a sweeping tour of the US to reassure Americans that combating surging inflation remains a top priority for the White House, CNN reported.

Inflation in the US hit a 40-year high when consumer prices rose 8.6% in the 12 months ending in May. Rising energy and food costs have been fueled in part by Western sanctions against Russia over its special operation to demilitarize Ukraine, which have also triggered logistics disruptions to flows of agricultural imports and fuel.

While President Biden meets with G7 leaders at a summit in the Bavarian Alps to discuss new sanctions against Russia, rocketing inflation and looming recession fears have been pummeling his public approval rating at home.

Biden approval rating slips for 4th straight week:

SURVEYS

36% said they approve of the job he is doing — Reuters/Ipsos

33% earlier this month —
Quinnipiac University @cspanwj @gregkellyusa pic.twitter.com/t3fd3WlL7M

— Bill Badey (@10903) June 27, 2022

58 percent of Americans disapprove of the US President, showed a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll on 23 June. Biden's public approval rating fell for a fourth straight week to 36%, matching its lowest level last seen in late May.

Taking this as a warning sign that the Democratic Party could lose control of at least one chamber of the US Congress in the November midterm elections, the cross-country trip is designed to highlight how "Biden's leadership on the world stage is centered around delivering for the American middle class," a White House official was cited as saying.

US officials are expected to tout Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and outline steps the 46th POTUS has taken to try to bring down the cost of living for millions of Americans.

According to the report, cabinet officials scheduled to hit the road include Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh and others.

Tom Vilsack, for one, has been entrusted with making a new announcement related to the infrastructure law in Iowa on Tuesday. Pete Buttigieg is reportedly gearing up for a separate announcement about the legislation on 30 June in Alabama.

Amid a scramble to ease the burden on American consumers due to surging energy prices, Joe Biden called on Congress to suspend federal gasoline and diesel taxes until the end of September on Wednesday.

"By suspending the 18-cent gas tax, federal gas tax for the next 90 days, we can bring down the price of gas and give families just a little bit of relief," Biden said in a speech from the White House.

However, a federal gas tax holiday would be sure to face steep odds in Congress.

Joe Biden also urged states to take steps removing their own taxes on gas and diesel, while telling oil refining companies to increase their capacity. The administration has also been contending with growing warning signs of a recession, with Joe Biden continuing to try and shift the blame onto Russia.

However, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell did not agree with claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin was somehow responsible for the US' economic woes.

Powell reminded on June 22 that inflation rose in America long before the start of Moscow's special military operation on February 24, 2022, exceeding 7% by December 2021.

"[The] inflation was high before — certainly before the war in Ukraine broke out,” Powell said.