Senator Elizabeth Warren, ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent asking him to correct the record after his testimony to the committee that grocery prices had fallen. Warren said those remarks conflict with federal data showing grocery inflation rose 0.7 percent in April, the largest monthly increase in nearly four years, and argued that households continue to face higher food costs. The letter says grocery prices rose 2.3 percent in 2025, nearly double the prior year’s pace, and links part of the increase to President Trump’s tariff policies. Warren pointed to a late-2025 executive order exempting coffee, tea, tropical fruits, beef and other agricultural products from reciprocal tariffs as evidence that the administration had acknowledged tariff-related food cost pressures. She asked Bessent to answer her questions by May 26, 2026. The request is framed as part of Warren’s broader affordability probe launched in January. That effort has included a report estimating families paid USD 2,120 more in 2025 because of inflation, information requests to the President, Amazon and coffee companies about price increases, a report estimating more than USD 86 billion a year in added costs from "Trump Fees," a separate request to Bessent on plans to lower costs after weak consumer sentiment data, and a joint letter seeking details on the administration’s response to higher energy prices.

Original source Back to tracker