Biden plots inflation fight with Fed chair
WASHINGTON — Focused on relentlessly rising prices, President Joe Biden plotted inflation-fighting strategy Tuesday with the chairman of the Federal Reserve, with the fate of the economy and his own political prospects dependent on the actions of the government’s central bank.
Biden hoped to demonstrate to voters that he was attuned to their worries about higher gasoline, grocery and other prices while still insisting an independent Fed will act free from political pressure.
Like Biden, the Fed wants to slow inflation without knocking the U.S. economy into recession, a highly sensitive mission that is
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to include increasing benchmark interest rates this summer. The president said he would not attempt to direct that course as some previous presidents have tried.
“My plan to address inflation starts with a simple proposition: Respect the Fed, respect the Fed’s independence,” Biden said.
The sit-down was Biden’s latest effort to show his dedication to containing the 8.3% leap in consumer prices over the past year. Rising gas and food costs have angered many Americans heading into the midterm elections, putting Democrats’ control of the House and Senate at risk.
Biden is running out of options on his own. His past attempts — oil releases from the strategic reserve, improving port operations and calls to investigate price gouging — have fallen short of satisfactory results. High prices have undermined his efforts to highlight the low 3.6% unemployment rate, leaving a growing sense of pessimism among Americans.