WASHINGTON – Only the elected president remains donald trump put your name on it, if you wish.

Trump won the White House largely because of voter frustration over high prices and a sense that America needs major changes. But when he takes office in January, Trump will inherit an economy primed for growth.

The unemployment rate is low, inflation is declining, and President Joe Biden’s administration has prepared a ready-made list of infrastructure projects that could go from theoretical to reality in the coming years. There’s the TSMC computer chip plant in Arizona, the new Hyundai electric vehicle factory in Georgia and a modernized I-375 in Michigan, among thousands of projects underway that will take years to complete.

All of that means it could be Trump, not Biden, who can tell Americans that he built the country back better. If you decide to let the projects move forward, that is.

Biden himself acknowledged last week that the positive economic impacts of his policies would come after his term ends in January.

“Much of the work we have done is already felt by the American people, but the vast majority will not be felt, it will be felt for the next 10 years,” he said in remarks in the Rose Garden. “It will take time, but it is there. The way forward is clear.”

Trump wants to reverse Biden’s policies, but construction is already underway

While Trump during the election campaign criticized Biden’s record, he has offered few details about what initiatives he might rule out. Trump said in September that he would “rescind all unspent funds under the misnamed Inflation Reduction Law ” and said on Joe Rogan’s podcast that tariffs would do more for manufacturing than the funding provided by the CHIPS Act and Science.

But Biden advisers privately told The Associated Press that they expect Trump to continue with planned projects and take credit for Biden’s accomplishments, as do Republicans in Congress who hailed the opening of plants and the development of infrastructure in their districts but they voted against.

The administration has spent millions of dollars to put up road signs to promote Biden’s role in the projects; all Trump would have to do is relabel them with his own name. Biden’s advisers are confident that Trump will not want to cut programs that are helping states he won in this year’s elections, even if Republicans attempt a symbolic repeal of some provisions to help fund some of their own reduction plans. taxes.

When asked about this possibility, Karoline Leavitt, spokesperson for the Trump-Vance transition, said: “The American people re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin, giving him the mandate to implement the promises he made during the election campaign. He will comply.”

Natalie Quillian, Biden White House deputy chief of staff, said the administration’s programs are already starting to make a positive difference for the economy.

“We have already announced investments for 70,000 clean energy and infrastructure projects, catalyzed nearly $1 trillion in private sector investments, reduced prescription drug prices, and created 1.6 million construction and manufacturing jobs. “, said. “Over the coming months, we will continue to review the tape and ensure that Americans benefit from this president’s agenda for years to come.”

Trump enters White House as economy improves

Trump is also inheriting, in many ways, an increasingly healthy economy, despite his claims that conditions are miserable.

The Republican won the election with the unemployment rate at a healthy 4.1%, inflation at 2.4%, and the Federal Reserve cutting its benchmark rates so they could support additional growth. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell summed up the situation last week by saying the economy is “strong overall.”

However, voters felt the economy was weak. They penalized Democrats for inflation that reflected post-pandemic supply chain challenges, the impact of government aid that also boosted job growth, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which caused increases in food prices. energy and food.

However, voters seemed to care less about the overall rate of inflation than about changes in price levels that occurred over the past four years. Nearly 9 in 10 identified inflation as a major factor in their election in this year’s election, and Trump won the clear majority of this group, according to AP VoteCast, an extensive survey of more than 120,000 voters.

Still, economists who previously advised and worked with Trump felt the economy was not as strong as the headline numbers suggest. They emphasized the high level of government debt that has been driving growth, even though Trump himself showed little desire to reduce deficits during his previous term in the White House.

“Government spending keeps the economy afloat,” said Joseph LaVorgna, who was chief economist at the White House National Economic Council under Trump.

LaVorgna also noted that much of the recent job growth is coming from government and healthcare contracting, rather than manufacturing and other for-profit sectors.

Possible pressure to adopt renewable energy and electric vehicles

Some Republican lawmakers acknowledge that the energy tax credits that were part of the Inflation Reduction Act were positive and should be preserved. Eighteen Republican House members sent House Speaker Mike Johnson a letter in august asking him to preserve tax credits.

Economists who support Trump also note that electric vehicle sales growth could increase under the incoming administration, which has the support of Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

Trump has wanted to eliminate Biden’s incentives for electric vehicles, which are part of the Inflation Reduction Act. But after getting Musk’s endorsement, Trump said he is “for electric cars… because Elon strongly supported me.”

That simple switch from Trump talking about electric vehicles could take politics out of the issue and make the incoming president meet a goal set by Biden, said economist Stephen Moore, an informal adviser to Trump and an economist at the Heritage Foundation, a think tank. conservative.

“With Biden gone, the electric vehicle industry will come back,” Moore said. “Biden made EVs toxic because half the country hated Biden, the other half loved him. People who hated Biden would not buy an electric vehicle out of conscience.”