President Barack Obama is ready to play hardball to pass financial reform and is planning to bring that message directly to Wall Street.

The White House announced Monday that Obama will head to New York City on Thursday to deliver remarks at Cooper Union on the need for a strong financial reform package.

“Almost two years after the crisis hit and almost one year after the administration first laid out a detailed plan for holding Wall Street accountable and protecting consumers, he will call for swift Senate action,” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said in a statement.

Gibbs referred to the state of affairs on Wall Street as “a crisis” that has “already wiped out trillions of dollars in family wealth and cost over 8 million jobs.”

The president’s aggressive push for financial reform stands in contrast to his more hands-off approach to the early stages of the health care reform debate, which dragged on for more than a year. He also has been more willing to take on Republicans in their opposition to his efforts. Last week, he summoned Hill leaders including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) to the White House to discuss a way forward on the issue.