President Joe Biden meets with CEOs at the White House
Published Date: 2/9/2021
Source: CNBC Television
President Biden gives remarks ahead of his meeting with CEOs at the White House about how the country and businesses can recover from the coronavirus pandemic. J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon and other business leaders were in attendance. For access to live and exclusive video from CNBC subscribe to CNBC PRO: https://cnb.cx/2NGeIvi President Joe Biden will on Tuesday meet with the chief executives of some of the country’s largest businesses in the Oval Office to discuss his $1.9 trillion Covid stimulus plan and the outlook for the American economy. Among those expected to meet with Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen are JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon, Walmart’s Doug McMillon, Gap’s Sonia Syngal, Lowe’s Marvin Ellison and Tom Donohue of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Though the exact agenda of the afternoon meeting wasn’t immediately available, the White House said that the group will review the “critical need” for Biden’s massive rescue plan that’s currently making its way through Congress. Biden, shortly before the meeting, said that the group would talk about “the state of the economy, our recovery package. We’re going to talk a little bit — God willing — about infrastructure down the road and also about the minimum wage.” Still, the star-studded cast of American industry is likely to press the White House on its plans for making more Covid-19 vaccines available for workers, the size, scope and importance of another round of stimulus checks, and how a $15 minimum wage would impact payrolls. Yellen, a former chair of the Federal Reserve, has stressed the importance of acting quickly to flush the U.S. economy with more fiscal support even after the $900 billion bill Congress passed in December. Without it, the labor market recovery could take years instead of a complete rebound by next year, she said over the weekend. Though the U.S. economy rebounded sharply in summer 2020, that progress has plateaued if not partially reversed this winter as the hospitality, travel and food service industries continue to struggle under the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The January 2021 jobs report, published Friday, showed that employers added only 49,000 jobs last month. The drop in the unemployment rate, which fell to 6.3% from 6.7%, came as more people gave up on their job searches. It’s statistics like those which have hastened efforts by congressional Democrats to pass Biden’s American Rescue Plan using a budget tool known as reconciliation that would allow the party to muscle the big-ticket plan through Capitol Hill without support from the GOP. Though the Biden administration for weeks voiced optimism that his plan could pass on a bipartisan basis with the 60 votes required without reconciliation, Republican pushback over the size of the bill appears to have ended prospects for an agreeable solution. “The president – his first priority is getting relief to the American people,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday. “Again, I don’t think the American people are particularly worried about how the direct relief gets into their hands. If [reconciliation] is the process it moves forward through, which seems likely at this point, the president would certainly support that.” While the sit-down in the Oval Office provides a chance for the CEOs to learn more about the administration’s goals, it also grants the White House a chance to receive feedback directly from some of the nation’s top executives, who may favor some parts of Biden’s bill and dislike others. Josh Bolten, president and CEO of the influential Business Roundtable, told CNBC last week that business leaders generally do not support conservative efforts to “whittle down” the size of the Biden plan. » Subscribe to CNBC TV: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBCtelevision » Subscribe to CNBC: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBC » Subscribe to CNBC Classic: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBCclassic Turn to CNBC TV for the latest stock market news and analysis. From market futures to live price updates CNBC is the leader in business news worldwide. The News with Shepard Smith is CNBC’s daily news podcast providing deep, non-partisan coverage and perspective on the day’s most important stories. Available to listen by 8:30pm ET / 5:30pm PT daily beginning September 30: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/29/the-news-with-shepard-smith-podcast.html?__source=youtube%7Cshepsmith%7Cpodcast Connect with CNBC News Online Get the latest news: http://www.cnbc.com/ Follow CNBC on LinkedIn: https://cnb.cx/LinkedInCNBC Follow CNBC News on Facebook: https://cnb.cx/LikeCNBC Follow CNBC News on Twitter: https://cnb.cx/FollowCNBC Follow CNBC News on Instagram: https://cnb.cx/InstagramCNBC https://www.cnbc.com/select/best-credit-cards/ #CNBC #CNBCTV