Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen coming to Milwaukee Friday to tout Biden job creation

WASHINGTON – Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will visit Milwaukee on Friday to meet with area business leaders and tout President Joe Biden's job-creation efforts, the latest planned stop in Wisconsin by a high-ranking official that underscores the Biden administration's focus on the swing state in the November election.

Yellen plans to tour the Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership/ BIG STEP program, a skilled labor training nonprofit on the west side of Milwaukee that helps people seeking work in manufacturing, construction and other sectors, a Treasury spokesman told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

She will hold a roundtable with the program's leaders, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley and other local leaders before delivering remarks highlighting Biden's "efforts to create and strengthen pathways to good-paying jobs for middle class Americans across the country."

The stop is scheduled just four days after Vice President Kamala Harris' visit to Waukesha County to recognize the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark abortion ruling that was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 and has continued to energize Democratic voters. Last month, Biden visited Milwaukee to tout his support for Black-owned businesses.

More: In the ground game to engage Black Milwaukee voters, signs of waning enthusiasm for 2020 rematch

Taken together, the series of trips from Biden and top administration officials underscore an increased focus from the president on a critical swing state on the 2024 presidential election map. Wisconsin could again prove to be the "tipping point" state — the state that pushes a presidential candidate past the finish line and into the White House.

Yellen's remarks in Milwaukee on Friday will focus on Biden's support for unions and the administration's investments through measures like the American Rescue Plan that help build the workforce and create jobs "that don’t require a college degree," according to the Treasury Department. She is likely to mention the WRTP and its Building Industry Group Skilled Trades Employment Program, which has opened new opportunities in "green construction" thanks to federal funding.

The department said the WRTP is being "modernized and expanded" with the help of that funding, but it did not provide specific details. Lindsay Blumer, the president of WRTP, told the Journal Sentinel Monday morning that the group received funding through ARPA and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law with the help of Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin in part to train "women and people of color entering registered apprenticeships."

Blumer said the group at the event Friday will discuss how it plans to upgrade and expand its training space this summer "to serve even more folks in Milwaukee and the surrounding areas."

While in Milwaukee, Yellen is expected to join a discussion on the local economy and Biden's economic agenda hosted by the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce.

Yellen's stop in Milwaukee is part of a broader effort from the former Federal Reserve chairwoman to highlight Biden's agenda while also contrasting the Democratic president with his expected Republican opponent.

On Thursday, she will give remarks at the Chicago Economic Club on the improving economy and meet with Illinois' Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker.

During those remarks in Chicago, Axios reported this week, Yellen will take aim at former President Donald Trump.

"In the Trump administration, the idea of doing anything to fix it was a punchline," Yellen will say about the economy, according to speech excerpts obtained by Axios. "But this administration has delivered."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Janet Yellen coming to Milwaukee Friday to tout Biden job creation