the president s visit comes as his administration is facing mounting pressure following this, you know, 41-year inflation high that we re seeing and a huge surge in gas prices. the nation s national average for gas, $5.02 a gallon now. all of this as a key inflation measure slowed slightly last month. also this morning, the white house is now confirming that the president will be traveling to the middle east, specifically to israel and saudi arabia, in july. we re also learning his visit will include a meeting with the saudi crown prince, mohammed bin salman. remember, president biden had previously called the kingdom a pariah for its role in the killing of washington post journalist jamal khashoggi. that was before he became president. we ll have much more on that in a moment. plus, the january 6th committee is postponing now a hearing that was scheduled for tomorrow. a member of the committee saying this was due to technical issues. we ll be live on capitol hill with
this, of course, despite his promise to make saudi, quote, a pariah state. all this as the federal reserve is expected to announce its biggest hike in decades. john harwood is live in philadelphia. john, there is a lot at stake for the president. reporter: a lot at stake, erica, for the president. a lot at stake for the country. as we ve seen underscored by the january 6th committee hearings. the president s biggest political problem is negative public sentiment about high inflation. as you indicated, he is going to say that this is his top priority. mostly a job for the federal reserve, but he s also going to do what he can to try to make a difference on the margins. that s why he is going to swallow his statements about making saudi arabia a pariah and meet with the crown prince, mbs, on a visit in a few weeks. that s in hopes of expanding saudi oil production and getting gas prices down a little bit. he s also here before this friendly audience to talk about the positi
you. been a lot of fun. thanks for having me. i m alex marquardt. our colleague, erica hill, continues our coverage. hello, everyone. i m erica hill in for kate bolduan today. president biden s speaks as economic anxiety and inflation fears grip the u.s. a january 6th committee detailing how president trump s big lie turned into a scam. and catastrophic flooding shuts down one of america s most popular national parks. this is what we re watching at the hour. we begin this hour with president biden, who is about to address the economy at a union co convention in philadelphia. the white house says the president will make it clear that fighting inflation is his top priority. this, of course, as fears of a recession grow. new this morning, the white house confirming president biden will travel to saudi arabia next month where he will meet with the controversial crown prince.