The remarks come ahead of the release of April’s consumer price index.
President Joe Biden is expected to continue his sharpened attack on what he’s now calling the GOP’s “ultra-MAGA” agenda as he pitches his plan to tackle inflation Tuesday.
His remarks come as the national average of a gallon of gas hit a record high price of $4.37 a gallon, AAA said.
Biden will address rising prices at 11:30 a.m. ET from the White House South Court Auditorium.
“This is the administration’s top economic priority and we are laser-focused on doing everything we can to bring prices down,” a White House official said.
Inflation is one of the Democratic Party’s biggest problems heading into the 2022 midterm elections. Republicans have seized on higher costs to criticize Biden’s domestic agenda while the White House is pinning the problem on supply chain issues, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Biden will use his speech on Tuesday to tout recent accomplishments aimed at alleviating the increasing financial burdens on Americans, including a historic release form the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to offset soaring gas prices and the expansion of discount internet program for low-income households, the official said.
Biden will also use the occasion to continue his ramped up rhetoric against the GOP, accusing Republicans of having no real plan to address inflation.
“In fact, the only economic plan congressional Republican leadership has put forward is an ultra-MAGA proposal that would raise taxes on 75 million, primarily middle-class American families while sunsetting vital programs like Social Security and Medicare,” a White House official said.
Biden has used one proposal in particular as a target: GOP Sen. Rick Scott’s pitch to have all Americans pay some income tax to “have some skin in the game, even if a small amount.” That would mean a tax increase on Americans whose income is currently too low to owe federal income taxes.
On Tuesday, Biden is set to say Scott’s plan will hurt frontline workers like firefighters and teachers.
Despite Biden’s focus on the plan, Scott’s proposal hasn’t been embraced by Republican leaders. Instead, Sen. Mitch McConnell made a point to distance himself from it shortly after it was announced.
“If we are fortunate enough to have the majority next year, I’ll be the majority leader, I’ll decide in consultation with my members, what to put on the floor,” McConnell said. “Let me tell you what will not be a part of our agenda. We will not have as part of our agenda, a bill that raises taxes on half the American people, sunsets social security and Medicare within 5 years. That will not be a part of the Republican Senate Majority agenda.”
Biden’s remarks on inflation will come ahead of the release of April’s consumer price index. The Bureau of Labor Statistics will announce those numbers on Wednesday morning. In March, the consumer price index spiked 8.5% from the year prior–the largest 12-month increase in 40 years.
ABC News’ Ben Gittleson contributed to this report.