Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., told Newsmax that the Biden administration's attempt to redefine "recession" doesn't change the fact that the United States has entered one.
"What I've always known to be the definition of a recession is two straight months of a downward slide in GDP [gross domestic product], and that's what's happened," Walberg said during a Thursday appearance on "American Agenda."
"I know the administration is trying to redefine what a recession is, but my people back in the 7th district of Michigan are feeling the recession in their pocketbooks," he added.
Walberg's comments follow the Thursday release of the Commerce Department's second quarter GDP report adjusted for inflation. According to the metric, the GDP fell 0.2% in the last three months after contracting by 0.4% in 2022's first quarter.
Although several economists have deflected claims that the economy is officially in recession following the report, Walberg argued that "the recession is real" for people in his district as inflation nears an all-time high.
"The Democrats just want to keep spending, and that's really what's put us into this problem," Walberg said regarding a proposed corporate tax hike in the Senate.
"These people actually believe if you spend more, and you tax more, and you have more government control, then you can control inflation," he said. "Well, it's not working. It never has."
Walberg also condemned the decision by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., to back the reconciliation bill, even after Manchin promised he wouldn't support President Joe Biden's "build back broke" agenda.
"He's going to do it," Walberg said. "And we will go home now for the August recess, and the news media and the Democrats, and sadly our constituents, will see Congress leaving, spending billions of dollars, and taxing the American public again."
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