The White House is in absolute denial that their anti-American oil and gas policies are causing energy prices in the United States to skyrocket.
On Thursday, Press Secretary Jen Psaki got in a tussle with Fox News’ Peter Doocy over policies like the Keystone XL pipeline, which the Biden administration canceled shortly into the administration.
“Is a restart of the Keystone XL construction completely off the table as long as Joe Biden is president?” Doocy asked.
“Well, why don’t you tell me what that would help address?” Psaki snarked.
“I’m asking you if it is an option,” Doocy continued. “You guys say all options are on the table. Is restarting Keystone construction one of them?”
“If we’re trying to bring about more supply, that does not address any problem,” Psaki claimed with a straight face.
“It’s supply from Canada, a friendly ally, instead of Saudi Arabia,” Doocy correctly pointed out.
“That’s already — we’re already getting that oil, Peter,” Psaki said condescendingly. “It’s — the pipeline is just a delivery mechanism, it’s not an oilfield. So it does not provide more supply into the system. It does not address — ”
“Is it on the table?” Doocy continued. “Is it possible that Joe Biden will ever say, ‘You guys can go ahead with construction of the Keystone XL?’”
“There’s no plans for that, and it would not address any of the problems we’re having currently,” Psaki lied.
The Biden administration is taking bipartisan flak for refusing to open up domestic energy sources, such as by increasing federal leases for oil and gas production, loosening restrictions on offshore oil drilling, supporting fracking, and greenlighting the completion of the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada into the United States.
Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY), who is chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, argued that the U.S. should ‘not be trading in one tyrant for another to meet America’s energy needs.’
“We need to blow a hole in the Russian economy. We need to lower gas prices for American consumers. Everything should be on the table,” he said in an interview. “But I don’t support strengthening one dictator to hurt another. And I don’t think you’ll see us do that.”
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-NY) lashed out at the Biden administration for turning to Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.
“Nicolás Maduro is a cancer to our hemisphere and we should not breathe new life into his reign of torture and murder,” Menendez said in a statement. “As such, I would strongly oppose any action that fills the pockets of regime oligarchs with oil profits while Maduro continues to deprive Venezuelans of basic human rights, freedoms, and even food.”
Biden officials recently traveled to Venezuela to explore the prospect of lifting sanctions, including renewing energy imports to offset the banned Russian oil.
Meanwhile, Biden has turned to authoritarian Middle Eastern regimes to assist with global oil supplies, but has thus far been rebuked.
The Saudi crown prince and the United Arab Emerates sheikh have both rejected President Biden’s overtures to aid the United States on lowering world oil and gas prices.
“The White House unsuccessfully tried to arrange calls between President Biden and the de facto leaders of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as the U.S. was working to build international support for Ukraine and contain a surge in oil prices,” Middle East and U.S. officials said, as reported in the Wall Street Journal.
“Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the U.A.E.’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan both declined U.S. requests to speak to Mr. Biden in recent weeks, the officials said, as Saudi and Emirati officials have become more vocal in recent weeks in their criticism of American policy in the Gulf,” WSJ noted.
“There was some expectation of a phone call, but it didn’t happen,“ said a U.S. official about Biden’s planned call to the Saudis. ”It was part of turning on the spigot [of Saudi oil].”
Perhaps the U.S. should turn on its own spigot for oil and gas. But in Jen Psaki’s world, that surely “would not address any of the problems we’re having currently.”
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OPINION: This article contains commentary which reflects the author's opinion.