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More and More Democrats are on Board with Banning Russian Oil, as White House Hesitates

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  March 05, 2022 10:30 PM

On Friday, I highlighted Sen. Ted Cruz's (R-TX) introduction of the Energy Freedom Act, but it's not the only legislation that makes reference to concern with America's energy dependence, and on countries such as Russia and Iran, no less. On Thursday, Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced the Ban Russian Energy Imports Act in the U.S. Senate, with legislation also coming in the U.S. House of Representatives from Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ). Leading Democrats in both chambers are signaling support for banning Russian oil as well. This is on top of a majority of Americans, at a bipartisan level, supporting such a ban. And yet, the White House hesitates.

"President Biden has imposed more restrictions on U.S. oil companies than he has on Russian oil," Sen. Cruz charged when introducing his bill. 

In the Ban Russian Energy Imports Act, Sens. Manchin and Murkowski were joined by over a dozen senators, all of whom referenced Vladimir Putin's ruthless actions in his invasion of Ukraine.

The bill would, in, part, "Declare a national emergency specifically with respect to the threat to our national security, foreign policy, and economy that exists as a result of Russian aggression against Ukraine and directs the President to prohibit imports of crude oil, petroleum, petroleum products, LNG, and coal from Russia."

Sen. Manchin warned that by purchasing more than half a million barrels of oil a day, "we are emboldening Putin to continue using his greatest weapon of war – energy exports." He also pointed out that "this bipartisan bill shows our strong commitment to stand behind the valiant efforts of the Ukrainian people and the measures our allies in Europe are taking to rebuke Putin and his continued aggression."

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Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) perhaps put it best. "When America buys Russian oil, we fund Vladimir Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine and his threats against the U.S. and our NATO partners," he said. 

"Simply put, continuing to import oil from Russia is national security suicide. We never should have been in this position. After all, we were energy independent during the Trump administration and the world’s top producer of all-of-the-above energy resources. The Biden administration’s relentless war on domestic energy production has nearly killed this critical strategic advantage, and the world is now reaping the consequences," Sen. Sullivan continued. "The first step to regaining energy independence is ending the flow of Russian oil—the lifeblood of Putin’s corrupt regime—to our own country. I’m glad to partner with Senators Manchin and Murkowski on bipartisan legislation to close this unacceptable gap in the West’s sanctions, strike Putin’s Achilles’ heel, and stand with the brave people of Ukraine."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has also signaled support for banning Russian imports. 

A reporter had mentioned the legislation. "Madam Speaker, there's been a push by some Democrats to ban the import of Russian oil.  And I believe that Senators Manchin and Murkowski are going to report the bill on that today.  Where do you stand," she asked.

Pelosi emphasized "I'm all for that. Ban it," going on to double down on "Ban the oil coming from Russia. Yeah."

There's support from Senate leadership as well. As Lexi Lonas reported earlier on Saturday for The Hill, Majority Whip Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) has said he'll sign onto cosponsoring Manchin and Murkowski's bill. He appears to have been moved by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's virtual meeting with 280 members of Congress on Saturday morning. 

As Lonas quoted the majority whip as saying:

“The United States cannot continue to purchase millions of barrels of oil while Putin wages an unprovoked and unjustified war on Ukraine,” Durbin said. 

“The Ban Russian Energy Imports Act would declare a national emergency with respect to Russian aggression and immediately prohibit the import of Russian energy products. This bipartisan bill shows the U.S. Senate’s commitment to stand behind the brave Ukrainian people,” he added.

It's not merely the Democrats in Congress, but ordinary Democrats, and Americans of all political persuasions. 

A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday found that 80 percent of Americans believe the United States should stop buying Russian oil. The poll also shows that "approval of the way President Biden has been handling Russia (38%) and Ukraine (45%) remains stable," as in it's not too hot, like most if not all issues for Biden. 

The poll was conducted March 3-4, with a sample of 831 U.S. adults, including 370 Democrats, 306 Republicans, and 89 Independents. 

It appears that it is the White House, then, that is hesitating. For a write-up of the poll for Reuters mentioned that the "White House on Friday said it was weighing cuts to U.S. imports of Russian oil, though it is proceeding cautiously, concerned about a spike in gasoline prices that would add to high inflation." For the White House to now all of a sudden be concerned about inflation is rich.

The White House has also bungled responses, on inflation and gas prices, especially recently. The administration continues to dismiss those who would call for energy independence by banning imports from Russia. As Spencer reported on Friday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki sought to free Biden from blame for gas prices. 

"The reason why the price of gas is going up is not because of steps the President has taken," Psaki claimed. "They are because President Putin is invading Ukraine and that is creating a great deal of instability in the global marketplace."

As Julio reported on Thursday, U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh was unable to provide one solution for reducing inflation. 

The Biden administration has been particularly tone-deaf on gas prices, as has the Democratic Party, at the very least until quite recently. As I covered in December, the DCCC had distorted a graph to make it seem like Biden was to thank for a two-cent drop in gas prices. 

That tweet is still up, with our friends at Twitchy inducting it in their "This Aged Horribly Hall of Fame."

It's worth emphasizing that the Biden administration has been slow to impose sanctions, with the narrative for months, including from Secretary of State Antony Blinken, being that they didn't want them to lose their deterrent effect. Zelensky had pleaded with the West to impose sanctions, and has continued to remind them that he had called for them, even predicting the war wouldn't have happened, as he continues to call for them so as to more quickly and easily defeat Russian forces in the invasion of his country.