White House says Larry Summers wasn’t right about inflation

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Monday pushed back after a reporter asked if economists such as Larry Summers were right last year to warn that some government policies were going to lead to inflation. “I wouldn’t say we agreed with them then and we don’t agree with them now,” Psaki told reporters during a briefing. She added that last year’s $2 trillion COVID-19 aid package prevented the U.S. economy from “continuing to spiral,” and it helped with keeping schools open and other matters. She tied high inflation to a rise in energy prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Her remarks, which are similar to a defense she voiced last month, come before President Joe Biden’s speech on Tuesday about inflation.

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