Biden faces moment of truth on the economy this week

Every week is a tough week for this White House right now.

But as he recovers from his Covid-19 infection, President Joe Biden faces a new moment of truth this week about an economy that is stuck in an identity crisis and buffeted by unpredictable outside forces – and his White House knows it, as advisers scramble to front-run what many think could be a week of more gloomy data.

“This is not an economy that’s in recession, but we’re in a period of transition in which growth is slowing,” Treasury Secretary...