Alarm bells ringing in the White House over economy as Biden faces new headwinds
CNN
Alarming economic numbers and scenes of long lines at gas pumps in the Southeast are causing new political hurdles for President Joe Biden just as he begins negotiations with Republicans over major new spending proposals.
The White House this week has scrambled to contain the fallout of a pipeline shutdown at the same time new figures showed a spike in inflation and last week's monthly job report reflected turmoil in the labor market. The disparate factors are not all directly related, and the pipeline shutdown was prompted by Russia-based ransomware hackers who penetrated a weak private sector network. While that did not affect supply, it prompted a rush of panic-buying from the public, leading to gas shortages in multiple states. Administration officials say the other matters are the expected blips of an economy emerging from a catastrophic pandemic-related crisis, with demand surging as Americans return to a new normal.More Related News