Democrats are risking further inflation with their call for multi-trillion-dollar spending in the name of infrastructure, Sen. Joni Ernst told Newsmax Saturday.
"I am extremely concerned about it," the Iowa Republican told Newsmax's "America Right Now," adding that she believes Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is also becoming concerned.
"He indicated the other day that this (inflation) is lasting longer than he had anticipated," Ernst said. "And what we see again is the Democrats handing out all kinds of goods and special services programs, checks in to your checking account."
But all that spending is adding up at a time when people still have not returned to work, even as the country comes out of the COVID-19 pandemic closures, said the senator.
"We don't have the same level of goods and services that we did before the pandemic because we have supply chain interruptions, and all of this is creating a maelstrom of higher inflation, one of the highest increases that we have seen for over 13 years," she said "This is something that we need to be very concerned about. "
Ernst also commented on the accelerated pullout of U.S. and NATO troops from Afghanistan, saying she's "very saddened" and that she's working on plans to help interpreters and others who assisted U.S. personnel in the country.
Women and girls who have been educated will also be targeted by the Taliban as it takes over, Ernst warned, and she does not think President Joe Biden, "with his hasty withdrawal plan," has given enough thought to what is being left behind.
"President Biden if you knew that we were going to pull out why, in heaven's sakes, didn't we get the State Department on this sooner?" she said. "We have been pushing in a bipartisan way, all pushing to get these interpreters and other supporters out of Afghanistan for several months now, and even my Democratic colleagues are very, very upset with the Biden State Department and how lackluster and slow they have been on protecting those people."
Ernst also said it will be very difficult to return to Afghanistan, if needed, to fight back if the Taliban takes over the country, so she couldn't give a "yes or no" if U.S. troops should go back in that case.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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