West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin ousted President Joe Biden’s government on Tuesday for failing to “act fast enough” to stem inflation. The heated statement comes as the White House tries to quietly lure Mancin back to the table for talks on Biden’s agenda. “When will this end? It is bad for the American people to act as if inflation is a new phenomenon,” Manchin said in a statement. “The Federal Reserve and the Administration have failed to act quickly enough and the current data is a timely snapshot of the consequences that are being felt across the country.” The Consumer Price Index gave more disappointing news on Tuesday. The closely monitored inflation meter rose 8.5% year-on-year in March, the largest such increase in four decades. The report reveals how much the war in Ukraine has already affected rising prices in the US, as food and energy costs have risen sharply, but Americans have already felt the sting before Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine. Manchin has made it clear that his frustration lies with more than “one party”, but his almost tangible anger with his party leadership over managing inflation is unlikely to go unnoticed. It also poured cold water on additional federal spending and sounded the alarm about rising national debt. “Instead of acting boldly, our elected leaders and the Federal Reserve continue to respond with half-measures and rhetorical failures looking for where to take responsibility,” he said. “The American people deserve the truth about why record inflation is happening and what needs to be done to control it.” Biden’s top officials, including Finance Minister Janet Glenn, reiterated what had been largely the economic consensus for months: inflation would be a temporary problem that would improve as the pandemic subsided and global chains froze. . “I think it’s temporary, but I do not intend to suggest that these pressures will disappear in the next month or two,” Yellen told CBS Evening News last October. However, Yellen, the former president of the Federal Reserve, said until December that it was time to abandon the most optimistic forecasts. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, Yellen’s successor, has also changed his mind about inflation. As the US central bank, one of the Fed’s mandates is to monitor closely and try to control inflation. The White House tried to defuse tensions with Manchin. In a narrowly divided Washington, the Democratic of West Virginia has enormous influence. It sank the social and climate spending package approved by Parliament late last year, delaying the Democratic agenda in the Senate 50-50. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
