At the end of last week, after the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ September Personal Consumer Expenditures (PCE) report showed prices paid by consumers for goods and services rose 3.4 percent over the year, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., accused Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell of hypocrisy on U.S. fiscal policy.

“As the Wall Street Journal’s Greg Ip reported earlier this week, Powell’s statement last week that the Fed ‘[doesn’t] comment on fiscal policy,’ is a notable shift from his position during the Trump administration in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic when he regularly commented on U.S. fiscal policy,” Scott’s office noted.

“During the Trump administration, Jay Powell was loud about his thoughts on fiscal policy and was shouting from the rooftops for more government spending. Biden gave him exactly what he wanted, pushed U.S. debt over $33 trillion and now Americans are suffering every day with high prices and insane interest rates. His refusal to speak about the disastrous impact of Biden’s failed policies is cowardly and unacceptable. It is time for real leadership at the Fed. If Powell won’t step up and call out failure and bad policy when he sees it, he doesn’t deserve to continue serving as Fed chair,” Scott said.