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Biden to tour LA Metro subway construction site, tout infrastructure funding
Los Angeles Oct 13, 2022
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President Joe Biden will pay a visit to a Metro subway construction site in Los Angeles Thursday and tout federal investments aimed at bolstering the nation’s infrastructure.
According to the White House, the president will get a look at work being done to extend the Metro D (Purple) Line into Brentwood. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One Wednesday that mayoral hopeful Rep. Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles, will be among those joining Biden at the event.
“Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we have made historic infrastructure investments in public transit projects like L.A.’s Purple Line, which will create jobs and opportunities, reduce traffic and pollution, and increase opportunities across L.A.,” she said.
Bass, Mayor Eric Garcetti and Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, greeted Biden at Los Angeles International Airport late Wednesday when he arrived aboard Air Force One, beginning a roughly two-day Southland visit.
Biden will attend a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee fundraiser later Thursday, then travel to Orange County on Friday to discuss “lowering costs for American families,” according to the White House.
The president will leave the area Friday, bound for Portland, Oregon.
Jean-Pierre said Biden’s appearances in Orange County and Oregon will highlight “his efforts to lower prescription drug costs, protect Medicare and strengthen Social Security, and to fight efforts by congressional Republicans to put Medicare and Social Security on the chopping block and reinstate giveaways to Big Pharma.”
The California Republican Party chided Biden’s visit, calling the state an “odd choice” for the president to choose “as a backdrop for bragging about his failed policies,” noting the national-high cost of gas, rising crime and homelessness.
“If President Biden is looking for a sympathetic audience to high- five him for a job well done, he’s come to the wrong state,” state Republican Party Chair Jessica Millan Patterson said in a statement. “Californians are suffering under the reckless policies of Joe Biden and the California Democrats who enable his failed agenda. Make no mistake — the path to the House majority runs straight through our state, and California voters will ensure that Republicans are put in charge to turn our country around from the mess that Democrats have made.”
According to Deadline, the Thursday evening DCCC fundraiser will be in Brentwood and will feature an appearance by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. It was unclear who is hosting the event.
Deadline reported that tickets for the event start at $5,000 per person, ranging up to $50,000 for a couple to be labeled as “hosts,” which also includes a photo op and attendance at a reception.
Biden was last in Los Angeles in June, serving as a host of the Summit of the Americas. He also spoke at two Democratic National Committee fundraisers during that visit.
“President Biden visiting California means he knows what Republicans have known for months: Democrats are in trouble,” said Hallie Balch of the Republican National Committee. “From sky-high gas prices to rising crime, California Democrats have hitched their wagons to the wrong agenda. Californians are tired of the Biden agenda and the many consequences it has brought to the Golden State.”
As is typical with presidential visits, motorists should anticipate rolling road and freeway closures as Biden is driven around the area. Biden’s exact travel routes are never released for security reasons.
