Amid Clinton launch, White House makes economic push

The White House this week will make a messaging push on two key Democratic economic issues, income inequality and equal pay for women, as Hillary Clinton ramps up her presidential campaign.

{mosads}President Obama will travel to Charlotte, N.C. on Wednesday to meet with working women and plug his budget proposal, which would increase taxes on the wealthy while upping tax credits for middle-class and low-income families, White House communications director Jen Psaki wrote in an email outlining the president’s plans.

In interviews on Monday with local television stations from Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Ohio and Maine, Obama will talk about his tax plans and draw contrasts with Republicans.

The president will continue his attacks on a GOP plan to repeal the estate tax, a proposal Psaki called a “giveaway” for a few thousand of the country’s wealthiest households. Republicans have dubbed the estate tax a “death tax” that hurts small business owners.

“As millions of Americans finish filing their tax returns this week, the choices between these competing priorities could not be more stark,” Psaki wrote.

The president will attend a White House event on Thursday honoring individuals and companies who have pushed for paid sick and family leave, equal pay and ending pregnancy discrimination — all issues Democrats have pushed in their message to women.

And on Tuesday to mark Equal Pay Day, the White House will call for the passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act, a bill that would allow workers to sue their employers for wage discrimination. Republicans blocked the proposal in the Senate before last fall’s midterm elections.

The effort comes the same week Clinton is officially launching her second bid to become the country’s first female president. She is also expected to focus on income inequality and equal pay in her pitch to voters.

“Everyday Americans need a champion,” Clinton said in a video announcing her campaign on Sunday. “I want to be that champion.”

Questions remain about how closely Clinton’s camp will collaborate with the White House as she seeks to succeed her onetime rival.

Obama has refrained from officially endorsing Clinton’s candidacy, as Vice President Joe Biden is still considering a White House run himself. White House officials have said they are not coordinating their messages with Clinton at this point, but added there would be some overlap.

“I’m confident that there will be a lot of agreement between the priorities that she articulates and the kinds of priorities this resident has been fighting for the last six years,” press secretary Josh Earnest said last month.

Clinton is kicking off her campaign as the clear front-runner in the Democratic field. A Clinton victory in 2016 could prove crucial for defending Obama’s legacy as president, including his signature healthcare law.

Obama has praised Clinton in the run up to her announcement. In Panama on Saturday, Obama said she would make an “excellent president.”

Clinton is expected to aggressively court women in this election — her announcement video featured a young female job-seeker, an expecting mother and a female retiree.

And for the White House, Psaki has become an example of its family-friendly policies.

She started her high-level post this month despite the fact she is pregnant. Psaki could benefit from policies Obama has implemented for his staff such as childcare and 12 weeks of paid maternity leave.

“I think many women limit themselves and think that they possibly can’t do it,” Psaki said last month on Fox News. “But they made this possible and have given me the flexibility and really said, ‘This is exciting and wonderful news, but we want you to come here and work with us and make it work,’ so that speaks to how much progress we’ve made as well.”