The Biden administration is taking pains to explain to Americans where the country is headed as the economy spits out anxiety-inducing data on prices and jobs. But it’s struggling to find a clear message
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Growing concern over the direction of the post-pandemic recovery and the administration’s response is opening up new lines of attack for Republicans, who see the early missteps as their best hope yet to help stall Biden’s tax-and-spend agenda and thwart Democrats in the 2022 midterms.
Still, top officials such as Yellen and Fed Chair Jerome Powell have been forecasting somewhat higher inflation for months, saying the reasons behind it — supply bottlenecks, worker shortages and an unusually high enthusiasm for spending as businesses reopen — should only persist temporarily as the economy emerges from the coronavirus pandemic.
“[Biden’s] lack of leadership in the face of this serious threat is hurting people every day,” said Sen. Rick Scott , who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee. “Every increase in food, gas and household good prices, even increases of just a few cents, negatively impact families. There is no question whether inflation is happening.”
White House officials say they’re most focused on communicating with the American people about what they’re seeing in their everyday lives, rather than engaging with politically motivated arguments from Republicans, and want to keep the focus on their economic message of rescue and then recovery.