White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain says that the U.S. is not in a recession. “The economy is growing. It is strong,” he stressed. In addition, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said there are no meetings or anything happening in preparing for a recession.
White House Dismisses Recession Concerns
White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain, President Joe Biden’s top aide, shared his economic outlook in an interview with MSNBC Thursday. He said:
We are not in a recession … Unemployment claims remain at a historical low … The economy is growing. It is strong. It is creating jobs.
His statement echoes what Biden said last month, when he emphasized that the U.S. economy is “strong as hell.”
In addition, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a televised interview with the news outlet that the White House is not preparing for a recession, stating:
There are no meetings or anything happening like that in preparing for a recession because … look, what we’re seeing right now is a strong labor market.
The press secretary was later asked while en route to Albuquerque, New Mexico, with President Biden Friday whether it is imprudent for the administration to not prepare for a recession given that the bond market is forecasting a 48% chance of a recession within the next year, according to Evercore ISI.
“Look, I just want to be really clear here,” she replied. “It’s not just us saying this, I’m only laying that out. Because it’s not just us at the administration, but it’s other economists that are saying that the strength of our labor market is just not consistent — it really isn’t — with a recession or with even a pre-recession. We believe our economy is incredibly resilient, as we have been seeing under this administration, because of the work that this president has done, because of his economic policies.”
While top U.S. officials continue to downplay recession concerns, a recent survey showed that 98% of chief executives are already preparing for a recession in the U.S. The Biden administration has also been accused of trying to redefine what a recession is.
A growing number of economists have warned about a severe recession as the Federal Reserve continues raising interest rates to fight inflation. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said the U.S. economy could slip into recession in six to nine months. However, he outlined several factors that are “far more concerning.” Tesla CEO and Twitter boss Elon Musk believes that the U.S. recession could last until the spring of 2024 while veteran investor Jim Rogers expects it to be the worst recession in his lifetime.
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