Rep. Ryan Mackenzie said Tuesday morning that the Biden-Harris administration left a "total mess" for President Donald Trump to clean up as Americans continue to struggle with the cost of living across core household categories.
Appearing on Newsmax's "Wake Up America," Mackenzie said the Trump administration is making gains on affordability but cautioned that "there is still more work to be done."
The Pennsylvania Republican pointed to what he called the "two F's and two H's — food and fuel, housing and healthcare," arguing that voters suffered through "four years of out-of-control inflation during the Biden administration."
"We have been slammed ... prices up over 20% across the board," Mackenzie said, adding that while inflation is easing, "that doesn't mean that prices come down. It just means they aren't rising as fast."
He said Republicans ran in 2024 on taming inflation and strengthening wage growth.
"We also need to figure out how we can continue to make wage increases and wage growth a possibility for all Americans," Mackenzie said.
Mackenzie credited tighter border policies for helping stabilize wages, arguing that illegal immigration had previously "undercut American wages and [taken] American jobs." But he emphasized that economic shifts take time.
"We are making progress; we just have to keep going," he said.
With Trump scheduled to visit Monroe County, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, Mackenzie predicted a warm reception.
"Everybody is very excited to see and hear the president's agenda for the next year, especially on this economic front," he said.
Mackenzie pointed to several areas of Trump's second-term agenda in which his administration has made substantial inroads since taking office.
"The border is almost totally secure at this point," he said, asserting that critics overlook "significant progress solving the conflicts around the world" and addressing inflation driven by "the oversupply of money" under former President Joe Biden.
He said lowering fuel costs remains critical because energy prices cascade through the entire economy and impact prices across the board.
Mackenzie praised current efforts to expand domestic resource extraction, saying it is "bringing down the cost of fuel all across this country."
The congressman also accused Democrats of retreating from what he called "green new scam policies." Citing Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro's decision to halt pursuit of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Mackenzie said Democrats acted only after Republicans highlighted affordability concerns.
"He knew it was driving up prices, making life unaffordable for people," Mackenzie said, adding that sustained progress depends on an "all-of-the-above energy strategy" to keep lowering costs.
"Bring down energy prices, which then does bring down a lot of other prices," he said. "And food is a prime example of that."
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