Poll: 44 Percent of Americans Say Biden's Policies 'Very Responsible' for High Inflation

Over 40 percent of Americans say President Joe Biden's policies are "very responsible" for high inflation, according to a new poll from Politico and Morning Consult.

Twenty-five percent say Russia's war with Ukraine is "very responsible" for the surge in inflation, which reached a nearly 40-year high in the U.S. through April.

The Federal Reserve is trying to temper the impact from the highest inflation in four decades by raising interest rates. On Tuesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell told a Wall Street Journal conference that the U.S. central bank will "have to consider moving more aggressively" if inflation fails to ease after earlier rate hikes.

And he said the Fed "wouldn't hesitate" to push its benchmark rate to a point that would slow the economy if needed. While it is unclear what level that might be, Fed officials peg it at about 2.5% to 3%, roughly triple its current setting.

At a meeting earlier this month, the Fed raised its key rate by a half-point — double the usual increase — for the first time since 2000, to a range of 0.75% to 1%. And at a news conference after the meeting, Powell suggested that Fed officials would continue to raise its rate by a half-point, at both its June and July meetings.

The survey, conducted May 13-16 among 2,005 registered voters, also found:

• 43% say Republicans would do a better job of handling inflation than Democrats, while 38% say Democrats would do better
• 37% say Biden's office has a lot of control on inflation
• 34% say Congress has a lot of control over inflation management, the same number that says the Federal Reserve has a lot of control over inflation
• 44% approve of the job Biden is doing, higher than previous polls showing around 39% approved
• Just 15% agreed that returning to pre-pandemic behaviors was very responsible for high inflation

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

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