President Obama has tapped Vice President Joseph R. Biden to lead an administrationwide effort to curb gun violence in the aftermath of the massacre in Newtown, Conn., on Friday.

Mr. Obama, with Mr. Biden at his side, will make a statement at the White House at 11:45 a.m. Wednesday on administration plans just five days after the school shooting that killed 26 children and adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

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On Tuesday, the White House said it supports reinstating a ban on assault weapons but that was only one part of a much broader strategy aimed at putting a stop to the string of shootings the nation has endured in recent years.

During a Sunday-night vigil in Newtown, Mr. Obama vowed to use “whatever power this office holds” in efforts to prevent “more tragedies like this.”

Mr. Obama added: “We can’t accept events like this as routine. Are we really prepared to say that we’re powerless in the face of such carnage? That the politics are too hard?”