Biden Administration Is Changing The Rules So It Can Spin Economic Data Sooner

Breitbart ^ | 02/14/2024 | JOHN CARNEY

[ChicagoConservative27]

The Biden White House is scrapping a decades-old rule that bars administration officials from commenting on economic data for one hour after their release, a notice in the Federal Register indicated Wednesday.

Faced with polls showing that the public strongly disapproves of President Joe Biden’s management of economic issues, the White House is changing the rules to give them a new advantage when it comes to spinning economic data in a more favorable light.

Instead of the one-hour waiting period that has been in place since the Reagan years, administration officials will be able to weigh in on important economic releases after just half an hour.

[Political Junkie Too]

How is an hour going to help an iceberg strike?

Here is an example.

The January Consumer Price Index (inflation index) was released last Friday at 8:30am EST. The stock market opens at 9:30am EST. That means that the Biden administration could not talk down the "hot" inflation report until after the stock market opened.

Today was a bad retail sales report for January, but the stock market doesn't seem to have responded to it. That report also came out at 8:30am EST.

This rule change would let them speak a half hour BEFORE the stock market opens.

On March 6 the February jobs report comes out at 8:30am EST. On March 8 the February unemployment report comes out at 8:30am EST.

This rule change allows the Biden administration to speak about the major economic index reports 30 minutes before the stock market opens instead of just when it opens.

-PJ