WASHINGTON—As Democrats crafted their $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief package last year, they repeatedly argued that the risk of doing too little to help the economy outweighed the risk of doing too much.
On the anniversary of the American Rescue Plan becoming law, they are being forced to confront that risk assessment anew. While Democrats say the strength of the economy’s rebound from the depths of the Covid-19-induced recession shows their approach was correct, they face intensifying criticism that rising inflation indicates that the plan overheated the economy. Even some Democratic lawmakers say they could have scaled back some of its elements.
