Senate GOP squeezes a top Biden economic aide over early inflation missteps
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Senate GOP squeezes a top Biden economic aide over early inflation missteps
cereals and bakery products,
Jared Bernstein faced spirited pushback Tuesday from GOP senators as the progressive economist appeared for his nomination hearing to head President Biden’s Council of Economic Advisors (CEA).
The hearing touched on a range of subjects from energy to tax policy, but most often turned to the Biden administration’s record on inflation — and the central role Bernstein, who is currently a member of the White House advisory group, played in shaping and communicating that policy in recent years.
“It is mind boggling to me that inflation is at a 40-year high and yet the person who advised the president that inflation would be transitory is the very same person the president has nominated to be the chair of the CEA,” said Ranking Member Tim Scott (R-SC) as the hearing kicked off.
“It just doesn't make sense,” the senator, and possible presidential candidate, added.
The contentious back and forth over inflation — which came up repeatedly during the two-hour session — is just the latest example of the bumpy ride that Biden’s nominees have faced in recent weeks as the president seeks to fill out his administration for the last 20 months of his term.
While Bernstein is still seen as likely to eventually win confirmation, another Biden nominee is expected to be under an even bigger microscope later this week when Julie Su, Biden’s nominee for Labor Secretary, appears before another Senate panel.
A focus on the word ‘transitory’
Bernstein appeared on Tuesday alongside three additional Biden nominees who faced their own critical questioning, including Ron Borzekowski, nominated to be Director Of Financial Research at Treasury, and two nominees for posts at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The questioning for Bernstein often focused on officials use of the word "transitory" and what is seen as a downplaying of the threat in recent years as inflation shot up.
“That was an ambiguous and unclear word that was poorly chosen,” Bernstein acknowledged Tuesday under questioning from Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), adding that it was “temporally ambiguous.”
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