(Bloomberg) -- Joe Biden assured Americans that inflation remains his top priority, after price increases unexpectedly hit a new 40-year high last month, but again sought to blame his biggest political liability on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

“I understand Americans are anxious, and they’re anxious for a good reason,” Biden said at the Port of Los Angeles on Friday, before touting the 8.7 million jobs the country’s gained since he took office and the government’s falling budget deficit.

“We’ve never seen anything like Putin’s tax on both food and gas,” he said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. But he added: “America can tackle inflation from a position of strength better than any country in the world.”

A Labor Department report released Friday showed consumer prices leaped 8.6% in May from a year earlier, surpassing estimates and undermining the White House’s argument that policy makers are managing Americans’ spiking cost of living. 

Outside more volatile food and gasoline prices, prices climbed 6% from a year earlier and 0.6% from April, also exceeding forecasts.

The numbers are another blow for Biden, who has seen his approval ratings plummet amid soaring prices, leaving Democrats vulnerable to losing control of Congress in the November midterm elections. The White House had hoped inflation would moderate before voters begin casting ballots, which in some states will happen in little more than three months.

The Biden administration has touted its efforts to lower prices, including a historic release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and its work with ports to relieve supply-chain bottlenecks -- including the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which together handle the most container traffic in the country. 

Biden and Cabinet officials have also argued they’re combating inflation from a position of strength, with low unemployment and strong household balance sheets. 

Nonetheless, prices have not fallen significantly -- and ordinary Americans are furious about it. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index hit its lowest point dating back to 1980, new data Friday showed. 

And some measures that Biden has said could help lower prices -- including legislation to cut prescription drug costs and a bill to crack down on foreign ocean shipping companies that the president accused of price-gouging -- are stuck in Congress.

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.