By 
President Joe Biden on Tuesday is planning to give his latest remarks focused on inflation, drawing a contrast with Republicans as investors and Washington await the latest reading on consumer prices.
Coming ahead of Wednesday’s CPI report and about a week after an attack on GOP Sen. Rick Scott’s economic plan, Biden is expected to highlight what Democrats say is the threat to Americans from Republicans — who are leading in midterm-election polls.
Biden will “detail his plan to fight inflation and lower costs for working families, and contrast his approach with congressional Republicans’ ultra-MAGA plan to raise taxes on 75 million American families and threaten to sunset programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid,” an administration official said. “MAGA” refers to “Make America Great Again,” the slogan popularized by former President Donald Trump.
Biden made similar comments last Wednesday at the White House, calling out Scott by name. The Floridian leads the National Republican Senatorial Committee. His “Rescue America” plan says, in part: “All Americans should pay some income tax to have skin in the game, even if a small amount.”
Biden’s remarks will come a day ahead of consumer-price data for April. In March, the CPI jumped 1.2%, driven by the higher cost of gasoline
RB00,
-2.31%,
food and housing. The annual rate, at 8.5%, was the highest in 40 years.
In April, meanwhile, economists expect the monthly figure to be 0.2%, a sign that inflation could be cooling.
Also read: Goldman’s Hatzius calls peak inflation as firm trims core forecast
See MarketWatch Economic Calendar.
Read more about inflation from MarketWatch.
Biden’s administration has taken several steps aimed at lowering prices for Americans, including releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and permitting the summertime sale of gasoline with 15% ethanol.
Now see: Biden touts savings from summer sale of E15 gas, but analyst sees ‘no price relief’ at most pumps
Scott and other Republicans say that Biden has done nothing to help the situation, and has in fact made it worse.
“Joe Biden and Democrats are desperately trying to shift the blame for the inflation crisis they caused,” said Mike Berg, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee. “Voters know Democrats are responsible for the high prices consumers are paying.”
Related: White House pushes back on view that $2 trillion fiscal package caused inflation
U.S. stocks
DJIA,
-1.62%
SPX,
-2.69%
COMP,
-3.63%
fell sharply Monday, building on technical weakness following last week’s volatile price action, as investors fretted over stagflation threats after the Federal Reserve tightened policy to rein in surging price pressures.
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