(NewsNation Now) — President Joe Biden on Thursday will travel to Chicago to promote his vaccine mandate for businesses.
His trip to the Windy City was rescheduled from last week due to contentious negotiations on Capitol Hill over his stalled economic recovery plan.
The president is championing vaccination requirements across the country in an effort to force the roughly 67 million unvaccinated American adults to roll up their sleeves.
While in Chicago, the president is expected to meet with CEO of United Airlines, Scott Kirby, as well as local Democratic leaders to continue his vaccine mandate push.
The White House said in a statement, "The President’s message will be clear: Vaccination requirements work. Vaccination requirements get more people vaccinated, helping to end the pandemic and strengthen the economy."
This is Biden's second visit to Chicago since his inauguration.
NewsNation will live stream Biden's remarks in Chicago at around 3:45 p.m. EDT in the player above.
Biden took his message to suburban Chicago, visiting a construction site run by Clayco, a large building firm set to announce a new vaccinate-or-test requirement for its workforce. The company is taking action weeks before a forthcoming rule by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration that will require all employers with more than 100 employees to require that their staffs be vaccinated or face weekly testing for the coronavirus.
White House officials said Biden will encourage other businesses to follow suit.
The idea of mandatory vaccination faced pushback from critics who argue it smacks of government overreach and takes away people’s rights to make their own medical decisions.
In the coming weeks, more than 100 million Americans will be subject to vaccine requirements ordered by Biden — and his administration is encouraging employers to take additional steps voluntarily that would mandate people get vaccinated or subject them to testing requirements.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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