Biden will form a joint task force between the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice to eliminate “unfair and unlawful pricing.”

“We are excited to co-chair the President’s New Strike Force on Unfair and Unlawful Pricing, which builds on the FTC’s far-reaching work to promote competition and address illegal trade practices that inflate costs for Americans,” said FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan. He told reporters in a phone call on Monday.

Assistant Antitrust Attorney Jonathan Kanter will co-chair the strike force with Khan.

“Here at the Department of Justice, we take on some of the most powerful corporations in the world so that we can improve the lives of American families,” Kanter said on the phone call.

On Tuesday afternoon, Biden will convene the sixth formal meeting of the White House Competition Council, a group of senior officials across the administration charged with cracking down on anti-competitive practices across a wide range of industries.

“Over the past year, supply chains have returned to normal and inflation has declined,” Lael Brainard, director of the National Economic Council, said on the phone call. “Some companies are not passing these savings on to consumers…President Biden is fed up with corporate practices that unfairly drive up costs on consumers and is taking action.”

Before the council meeting, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will issue a final rule to reduce credit card late fees. The Department of Agriculture will also issue final protections for farmers against potentially discriminatory processing practices.

These ads and the meeting are part of Biden's ongoing campaign against companies' pricing practices that he claims are unfair. The White House believes it directly contributes to the public perception that the economy is performing poorly, despite data that objectively shows a strong U.S. economy.

“The Competition Council and its members have worked to cut costs on everything from hearing aids to asthma inhalers to Epi Pens to air travel,” Brainard said.

However, questions remain about what actions regulators have the legal authority to take to address companies that exercise their pricing power more aggressively than others.

“There are dozens of rules set forth across all of these agencies that could, in certain situations, be applied when high prices hurt consumers,” a senior administration official said in a phone call Monday. “It depends on how and when.”

Biden pointed to what he called “price gouging” and “deflation” as examples of corporate pricing strategies that keep profits high, even when wholesale and transportation costs fall.

But two months into an election year, the strong economy narrative may finally be taking hold with voters who have not yet given Biden credit for the economy's soft landing. Instead, they blamed it for the rising cost of living after the pandemic.

Four new polls released over the weekend pointed to signs of growing economic optimism among respondents.

However, polls still show Biden trailing his likely November challenger, twice-impeached former President Donald Trump, in a hypothetical general election contest.