The White House is bringing in anchors from eight local TV stations across the country as part of President Obama's efforts to convince Republicans to agree to a deal to avert a series of looming spending cuts.

The White House says the move is part of its ongoing "Live from the White House" series, to "continue to turn up the pressure on Congressional Republicans to compromise to avoid the cuts slated to hit next Friday.

The White House says that by speaking to anchors from stations around the country, Obama will "have an opportunity to focus on the harmful local impacts that will be felt if Congressional Republicans refuse to compromise."

The White House says Obama will lay the blame squarely at congressional Republicans, saying they're chosing "to protect loopholes that benefit the wealthy and big corporations rather than compromise to reduce the deficit in balanced way and protect American families."

Obama will also provide more details of his proposal to boost spending on infrastructure, calling in his State of the Union for a "Fix it First"  program to focus on urgent infrastructure repairs, and Partnership to Rebuild America that attracts private capital to upgrade roads, bridges, and transit systems.