President Barack Obama plans to travel around the U.S. as the newly Republican-controlled Congress arrives in Washington, promoting his policies from easing immigration rules to boosting the economy through spending on infrastructure.
The president will begin a three-state swing on Wednesday in Detroit, then travel to Phoenix and Tennessee. He'll announce a series of executive actions and legislative proposals that will help more people afford homes, pay for college and find work, according to a White House statement.
The barnstorming is a buildup to Obama's State of the Union address on Jan. 20, following his two-week Hawaiian vacation, in the face of a Congress that has its own agenda. The Republicans take control of both houses for the first time in Obama's presidency on Tuesday, and will seek to put the president on the defensive by undoing his policies on issues ranging from immigration to health care.