President Joe Biden and Democrats are celebrating the anniversary of passing his Inflation Reduction Act and using it in the election 2024 campaign to tout Biden's accomplishments despite low polling with voters.
The Washington Examiner reported Tuesday that although the annual inflation rate fell 3% in June as compared to 9.1% in June 2022, prices are still high for consumers.
"The idea that the [Inflation Reduction Act] has been a smashing success because it has consistently brought down inflation, that won't be the case on Thursday," Heritage Foundation federal budget research fellow EJ Antoni told the Examiner. "The other thing is that inflation is still, if you're going by June's number, inflation is still more than twice what it was when Biden took office."
Antoni said he will be surprised if July's rate, due out Thursday by the Department of Labor, will be below 3%, despite some predicting a 2% annual rate compared to last year.
"There's literally no indication that we're going to be going any lower any time soon," Antoni said in the report. "I just ran the numbers again this morning, and I cannot make it come out any way other than higher than last month."
Antoni highlighted increasing energy prices like gasoline, which has jumped from $3.50 per gallon in July to about $3.83, as well as "government spending, borrowing, and printing too much money" as to why the rate will likely not drop.
In a statement to the Examiner, the Republican National Committee asked if Biden is willing to accept responsibility for the gas price hike after taking credit for it dropping from the $5 per gallon high just over a year ago.
"Now, as prices soar once again, will Biden take responsibility? Doubtful," RNC spokesman Jake Schneider said in the report. "Since Biden took office, Americans have lost over $2,250 paying higher energy costs. Biden also drained the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve down to just 18 days of supply — and refilling it will take decades."
Biden will be in Arizona on Tuesday to tout the Inflation Reduction Act for "unleashing a clean energy manufacturing boom just one year after the law was signed," the White House said, according to the Examiner.
Biden on Wednesday in New Mexico will highlight his "historic investments in conservation and protecting our natural resources" and tout the measure as "the largest investment in climate action in our nation's history," according to the White House.
According to a recent RealClearPolitics average of polls, 62.5% of voters do not approve of Biden's handling of inflation, and 58.3% disapprove of his handling of the economy.
"To the extent Americans may feel more confident financially, they aren't giving Biden much credit for it," Monmouth University Polling Institute Director Patrick Murray told the Examiner. "His economic policy performance numbers have barely budged since last year."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.