Republicans Blame Biden, He Blames Putin for High Gas Prices

On Tuesday, March 8^th, President Biden announced that he was putting in place a ban on imports of Russian oil and other energy. Despite acknowledging that this ban would cause a rise in domestic oil prices for the U.S., Biden announced the ban as retaliation for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  However, there is conflicting opinion on what the true cause of the price spike is, and when it really started. The Biden administration’s hope is that the ban will be an economic hit to Putin and his ability to finance this war. European countries rely much more heavily on Russian oil than the U.S. does, and Biden has been urging the ally nations to follow suit. In comparison to the rest of the world, Russia exports a small fraction of its oil to the United States, however, the ban has been enough to see record-breaking gas prices in only a few days.

Many Republican lawmakers argue that this large spike in gas prices due to Biden’s ban on Russian oil, gas, and coal imports is just part of a larger issue Biden has been creating for months. In June of 2021, Biden blocked a major permit needed to continue the Keystone XL pipeline project. The pipeline, which has been continuously delayed for over 12 years by landowners, activists, and environmentalists, was expected to carry oil from western Canada to Nebraska. Mitch McConnell made the statement that Biden and his administration would rather buy gas from “the world’s largest state sponsor of terror and a thuggish South American dictator”, rather than support oil drilling within the United States. However, environmentalists counter this ideology with the fact that halting new fossil fuel projects is a step in the direction towards cultivating large-scale use of renewable energy.

Prior to his presidency, Biden ran part of his campaign on reducing emissions and our reliance on fossil fuels. If he continues to make policy choices that favor environmentalism, it is likely gas prices will see an increase, war or not. Biden’s promises to work against the fossil fuel industry, not support it, is likely to scare investors as well as the industry itself. While this possible deterrent for investors could contribute to gas prices, experts believe it plays a very small role in short-term price changes. Some Republicans feel that the war in Ukraine is an opportunity for Biden to veil the damage he has been creating with these policy promises.

An additional option for placing blame is the coronavirus crisis. With the whole world grappling to keep up normalcy, it is no surprise to anyone that certain global supply and demand chains have been disrupted. Patrick De Haan, an analyst for GasBuddy, says that the decline began about 8 months before Biden even took office. With so many at home during the start of the pandemic, the demand for gas and oil fell, and as a result, suppliers pulled back on their production. However, when restrictions started to lessen and more people were moving around, suppliers couldn’t meet the demands quickly enough. This back and forth between demand as the pandemic continues also continues to push gas prices higher as suppliers struggle to keep up. However, Biden blames this most recent, 75 cent spike in prices on Putin. When asked what could be done about the rising prices he responded, “Can’t do much right now. Russia is responsible”.