‘Give us a plan or give us someone to blame’: Inside a White House consumed by problems Biden can’t fix – By Phil Mattingly (CNN) / June 26, 2022
(CNN) House Democrats’ anxiety bubbled to the surface as they awaited the belated arrival of White House officials.
The three top advisers to President Joe Biden arrived 13 minutes late for a meeting with the caucus on, according to the invitation sent to members, “messaging on the economy.” The presentation and question-and-answer period that followed only served to exacerbate their frustration.
“Give us a plan or give us someone to blame,” one House Democrat, describing the group’s reaction to the White House’s mid-June presentation. “They’ve been vacillating somewhere in between and that’s not helpful to any of us.”
It’s a view — and readout of the tone of briefing — White House officials strongly dispute, noting Biden has laid out a plan and the oft-used “Putin’s price hike” that reflects the direct correlation between Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and energy price spikes. Speaker Nancy Pelosi later told reporters she was “very pleased and honored by their presentation.” But the frustration that briefly spilled out during the briefing in the basement of the US Capitol encapsulates the Gordian knot Biden and his top advisers currently confront just five months before the midterm elections.
CONTINUE > https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/26/politics/joe-biden-white-house-economic-problems/index.html
