The White House dismissed a slump in first-quarter growth that was driven by a quirk in inventories and a jump in imports, emphasizing that Thursday’s report on gross domestic product also pointed to underlying strength in consumer spending.
G.D.P. declined 0.4 percent in the first quarter after adjusting for inflation, or 1.4 percent on an annualized basis, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Companies had stockpiled inventories in the fourth quarter and built them more slowly at the start of the year, and imports far outstripped exports as Americans bought goods from abroad, driving the decline.
“While last quarter’s growth estimate was affected by technical factors, the United States confronts the challenges of Covid-19 around the world, Putin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, and global inflation from a position of strength,” President Biden said in a statement following the release, referring to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. Mr. Biden also noted that “consumer spending, business investment, and residential investment increased at strong rates.”
Mr. Biden and Democrats are facing a challenging midterm election year as inflation runs at its fastest pace in four decades, chipping away at household budgets and eroding consumer confidence. At the same time, the Federal Reserve is raising interest rates to try to keep rapid price increases from becoming permanent, which could begin to meaningfully cool down the economy just as voters head to the polls.
The administration has tried to pin high inflation on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and particularly on Mr. Putin. While the war has pushed gas and other commodity prices higher, inflation was running at the fastest pace in decades even before Russia’s attack.
Republicans have seized on rising prices to blast Mr. Biden’s economic policies. The decline in growth at the start of the year, even if it did tie back to quirks, gave them room to ramp up that criticism.
“Accelerating inflation, a worker crisis, and the growing risk of a significant recession are the signature economic failures of the Biden administration,” Representative Kevin Brady, a Texas Republican, said in a news release on Thursday.
“The Biden administration produced the worst inflation in 40 years, the worst labor shortage in history, and the lowest consumer confidence since the Great Recession,” Senator Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican, posted on Twitter earlier this week.
The Biden administration has pushed back on Republican critiques, arguing that the rapid price increases are all the more reason to pass its policy priorities.
“Congress needs to pass legislation to lower costs and lower the deficit, reducing families’ prescription drug and utility bills and restoring fairness to our tax code — without raising taxes on anyone making less than $400,000 per year,” Mr. Biden said in his statement.