Biden to participate in CNN town hall in Ohio

President Biden will take part in a CNN town hall event next week in Ohio to mark his first six months in office, the network announced Tuesday.

Biden will field questions on July 21 from audience members in Cincinnati on the pandemic, the economy and other issues. The event will be moderated by CNN anchor Don Lemon.

The Ohio CNN town hall is Biden’s second of his presidency. In February, he attended a CNN town hall event in Wisconsin moderated by Anderson Cooper.

Ohio is the latest swing state Biden will visit as part of his presidential travels. It is home to a pair of key races in 2022, with Sen. Rob Portman (R) retiring and Gov. Mike DeWine (R) up for reelection. Biden has previously visited swing districts and states with Senate races on the ballot in 2022, including North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Next week’s town hall comes as Biden is facing a series of challenges in building momentum for his agenda. Coronavirus cases are steadily increasing in many areas where vaccination rates have stalled; negotiations on policing reform have hit road blocks; and Biden and the White House are still working to build support for both a bipartisan infrastructure deal and a Democratic-led reconciliation bill that would focus on family care, education and other priorities.