Prices climbed 3.4% in July from a year ago — still outpacing American wages — while the White House has quietly funneled at least $900 million into a renovation spree that bypasses Congress entirely. Working families tighten their belts; Washington builds helipads.
The Labor Department reported Wednesday that consumer prices ticked down from 3.5% in June, a modest decline driven by slipping gas and grocery costs, according to Arkansas Online. But inflation sat at just 2.4% before the Iran war, and prices are still rising faster than what most Americans earn. Core inflation, which strips out food and energy, landed at 2.5% — still above the Fed's 2% target. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has routed nearly a billion dollars through a little-known executive maintenance account for White House construction, a tab previously estimated at $600 million, the Daily Caller reported, citing the Washington Post. Taxpayers cover most of it.
The government's CPI formula has long understated what working families actually feel. Housing costs are substituted, substitution effects are modeled, and volatile categories are stripped out to produce a gentler number. The 3.4% headline is almost certainly a floor, not a ceiling.
The causes are no mystery. Arkansas Online reports that inflation has been driven by Trump's tariffs imposed last spring, higher gas prices from the U.S. attack on Iran, and a surge in AI infrastructure spending that has boosted chip prices. Julie Robbins, CEO of Earthquaker Devices in Akron, Ohio, told Arkansas Online her company has paid $200,000 in tariffs this year and raised prices twice. Only a small fraction has been refunded after the Supreme Court struck down Trump's emergency duties.
The Fed remains split. Roughly half the rate-setting committee wants to raise borrowing costs; the other half thinks rates are already high enough, according to Arkansas Online. Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, said: "America still has an inflation problem, but there are encouraging signs that price pressures outside of the gas pump are easing." Maybe. Gas averaged $4.04 a gallon nationwide Wednesday — 16 cents higher than a month ago, per AAA.
While families absorb those costs, the White House renovation budget includes a Lafayette Square upgrade, a visitor screening center, and a helipad, the Daily Caller reported. A federal appeals court ruled August 6 that the administration needs congressional approval for its East Wing ballroom plans. Trump vowed to appeal. "Congress has exclusive authority to regulate the construction and demolition of White House structures," Judges Patricia Millett and Bradley Garcia wrote. White House spokesperson Davis Ingle's response: "Thanks to the Builder-in-Chief, the White House will be properly glorified and remain in excellent condition for generations to come."
Glorified. That's the word they chose while your grocery bill climbs and small businesses eat tariff costs. Both parties have spent and printed their way into this inflation mess. The question is whether anyone in Washington will ever be asked to pay for it — or whether only you will.
