Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is expressing “regret” for how she chose to describe inflation.
During an interview with Fox Business on Wednesday, Yellen was asked, “In 2021, You did say inflation was transitory, do you regret saying that now?”
“I do regret saying it was transitory,” she replied.
Yellen added, “[Inflation] has come down. But I think transitory means a few weeks or months to most people.”
Watch the video below:
TREASURY SEC. JANET YELLEN (3+ years later): "I regret saying [inflation] was transitory." pic.twitter.com/grdATNkgJx
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 13, 2024
Yellen’s interview comes as the pace of inflation has hovered well above the Federal Reserve’s target rate for most of President Joe Biden’s time in office.
In February, inflation rose at an annual rate of 3.2%, higher than the 3.1% that was expected.
The pace of price increases has led some commentators to question whether the Federal Reserve will cut rates as they are above its target rate of 2%.
However, others suggested it will not lead to a delay in rate cuts.
Earlier in Biden’s term, Yellen had called inflation “transitory” and predicted it would decrease once supply chain pressures from the COVID-19 pandemic eased.
Inflation has dropped from its high of 9.1% in 2022, but has not been below 3% since Mar. 2021.
