It's "ironic and laughable" that President Joe Biden would blame Republicans for the economy when Democrats control the White House and both chambers of Congress, Rep. Rob Wittman told Newsmax on Wednesday.
"They are in full control of the destiny that we are on, and it's their policies that have placed us in this spot," the Virginia Republican said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America," adding that the administration's "anti-American" energy agenda, federal spending, and regulations are the causes of inflation.
Inflation slowed slightly in April, according to reports released Wednesday, falling to 8.3% from 8.5%, but that's no reason for the Biden administration to celebrate, Wittman said.
"If anything, they ought to be ashamed of their policies and be mindful of the impact this has on working families," he said. "This rate of inflation erodes families' abilities to do the things they need to do on a daily basis. If you look at the additional cost to a family budget, it's over $5,000 a year. That's incredibly harmful. On Election Day 2020, inflation was at 1.4%, so it gives you an idea where we are now."
Wittman also discussed the effects of last week's leak of a draft Supreme Court decision on abortion, after a CNN voter enthusiasm poll showed that the leak hasn't changed people's minds much on the November midterm elections.
"What it tells us is that people are focused on these everyday issues like inflation, the crisis at the border, and national security," said Wittman. "People want action. They want things to be done. They don't want continued massive regulation increases. They don't want to see these energy prices continue to increase. They don't want to see chaos at the border. They want us to be on track to get our nation where it needs to be, and they know what's wrong."
Wittman said he agrees with the House's passage of a $40 billion aid package for Ukraine, and said he hopes the Senate also will pass the legislation.
"It's not just about eight to Ukraine, both military and humanitarian, but it's also about restocking our stockpiles of weapons," the congressman said. "That's incredibly important, very important. There is about $8 billion allocated for that in this package."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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