Yellen Denies Report That She Pushed for a Smaller COVID-19 Relief Package

Yellen Denies Report That She Pushed for a Smaller COVID-19 Relief Package
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen testifies before the House Committee on Financial Services in Washington on April 6, 2022. Win McNamee/Getty Images
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WASHINGTON—Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Saturday said she never pushed for cuts to President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan (ARP), rebutting a media report in which a biographer was quoted as saying she favored scaling it back to avoid inflation.

“I never urged adoption of a smaller American Rescue Plan package, and I believe that ARP played a central role in driving strong growth throughout 2021 and afterwards,” Yellen said in a rare response to a media report.