Editor’s Note: Morning Money is a free version of POLITICO Pro Financial Services morning newsletter, which is delivered to our s each morning at 5:15 a.m. The POLITICO Pro platform combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the day’s biggest stories. Act on the news with POLITICO Pro. President Joe Biden defended his economic record one year into his presidency on Wednesday, touting record job growth and rising wages, while acknowledging that reining in inflation “is going to be very hard.” Biden’s remarks, which included both a tacit endorsement of higher interest rates and a plan for advancing his stalled economic agenda, came against a backdrop of further stock market losses. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite has now fallen more than 10 percent from its all-time high in November amid growing expectations that rates will continue to rise. A new Politico/Morning Consult poll also found voters gave the president poor marks on jobs, inflation and his handling of the economy, an area that many voters once considered his strong suit. Here are four takeaways from his press conference: Thumbs up to the Fed Before the Trump era, presidents generally avoided publicly weighing in on Federal Reserve policy decisions to avoid even the appearance of pressuring central bank officials. To the extent there has been pressure on the Fed in the past, including in recent years from former President Donald Trump, it was to cut interest rates and juice the economy. Biden on Wednesday went the opposite direction, backing the Fed’s plans to pull back support for the economy to curb inflation. “Given the strength of our economy and the pace of recent price increases, it’s appropriate, as the … Fed Chairman Powell has indicated, to recalibrate the support that is now necessary,” he said. Biden emphasized that he respects the Fed’s independence and called on the Senate to confirm his five nominees to the Fed board “without delay.” New year, same message As for what the White House can do to help, Biden repeated the same message he’s been delivering for months. “If price increases are what you’re worried about, the best answer is my Build Back Better plan,” he said. Most economists don’t see that happening anytime soon — even the ones who support the president’s agenda. The measure may ease long-term inflationary pressures, as the president said, and it would likely boost the economy’s long-term productive capacity by bringing more people into the workforce. But it’s not meant to be an inflation-fighting vehicle. Even the provisions designed to lower certain costs for families — such as child care — wouldn’t be implemented in time to do anything about inflation now (which is of course what people are worried about). The White House is taking other steps to address inflation, Biden said, such as trying to fix supply chain snarls and improving competition in certain sectors, but it’s not clear how much or how quickly those efforts will help. “It’s going to be a haul,” he said. Build Back Break-Up And about BBB: The president said it will probably have to be broken up into smaller chunks to get through the evenly split Senate. “I think we can break the package up, get as much as we can now and come back and fight for the rest later,” he said. The problem: Democrats only have one shot per fiscal year to advance a spending bill by using the arcane budget process known as reconciliation, which allows them to pass the measure with a simple majority. As our colleagues Sarah Ferris and Jennifer Scholtes reported, Biden was likely speaking about a single, scaled-back bill, versus a smattering of separate ones, according to multiple Democrats who privately shared their interpretations of his remarks. Even that isn’t a sure thing. Covid regrets Finally, Biden said the White House could have moved faster to boost testing before the latest Omicron wave. Right now, the pandemic continues to be the biggest obstacle to a fuller economic recovery, threatening to slow job gains, undercut economic growth and, perhaps most importantly from an economic perspective, add to supply chain pressures, which could further fuel inflation. The progress the White House makes on Covid over the next couple of months is a huge public health concern. But it will also matter enormously for the direction of the economy, and in turn voter sentiment, leading up to the midterm elections. IT’S THURSDAY — Supply chain issues have hit the Girl Scouts! Their newest cookie, a brownie-like, caramel-centered treat called an Adventureful, is in short supply in the Washington area, the Washington Post reported. (Fingers crossed that Thin Mints are unaffected.) Have a tip, story idea or a controversial opinion about Girl Scout cookies? Send them our way at kdavidson@politico.com, aweaver@politico.com, or on Twitter @katedavidson or @aubreeeweaver. | 
