President Biden will use his visit to La Crosse, Wisconsin, to "cut through the noise in Washington," aides told Axios, enlisting voters to help him hold together a fragile $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure deal.
Why it matters: This is Biden's first sales pitch since a weekend of damage control after he tied the deal to a Democrats-only push for more spending.
Between the lines: Wisconsin has a Senate seat up for re-election in the 2022 midterms. Several Democratic candidates have already declared, as they seek to flip Republican Sen. Ron Johnson's seat.
Details: Biden will come armed with state-specific data such as:
- One-third of rural families lack high-speed internet, and during the pandemic 82,000 children in Wisconsin didn’t have access to reliable internet for remote learning.
- 1,000 bridges in Wisconsin were rated structurally deficient.
- Nearly half of Milwaukee’s 160,000 water service lines are lead, and the plan's investments in water infrastructure will replace them all.
Don't forget: Press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday that congressional leaders believe the most "impactful" role the president can play is using the bully pulpit to sell the infrastructure deal.
