Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said the U.S. economy is moving in a "pretty good direction" while acknowledging that higher costs remain difficult for middle-class and working-class families, using a Fox News appearance to defend the Trump administration's tax-cut record ahead of the November midterms. Affordability remains a central voter issue: a Marquette University Law School poll found 35% of American adults ranked the cost of living and inflation as the most important problem, ahead of the economy at 15%. Inflation is still running above the Federal Reserve's 2% target, and economist Mark Zandi called the higher cost of living Americans' "number one financial problem." Higher gasoline prices have added to the squeeze, with the national average at $4.0656 on Sunday and GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan estimating Americans were spending about $338 million more a day on fuel than a year earlier. The strain is also showing up in household borrowing, from grocery purchases carried on credit cards or buy now, pay later loans to rising delinquencies in auto loans, credit cards and mortgages.