On Thursday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “America Reports,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) criticized the Biden administration for reportedly allowing the export of oil to European and Asian countries, including China while also “begging” Saudi Arabia — who will “play us” — for oil.
Khanna stated, “Well, two things, one, we do need to increase, short-term, the refining capacity. … But second, we’re exporting 3.44 million barrels of oil every day. Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) and I, months ago, said that we should temporarily ban the export of this oil. I don’t understand why we’re allowing the oil to be exported to countries like China when we need it here in the United States.”
He added, “I think the bigger issue is that we’re allowing the export of our oil. I don’t get that, why a country that has a shortage right now of oil is allowing 3.44 million barrels every day to be sold outside. Before 2015, that was not allowed. And if you stop that, you would have a dramatic decrease in price.”
Khanna further stated that “if you want to exempt some of our European allies, I understand that. But certainly, we don’t — we shouldn’t be selling oil to China or countries that aren’t directly threatened by Putin’s war, and I don’t understand why we’re continuing to do that.”
Khanna then commented on President Biden’s planned trip to Saudi Arabia, saying, “Well, first of all, look, the Crown Prince…MBS, hacked an American journalist to death — Khashoggi — and there was legitimate, bipartisan outrage. The president ran saying he was going to make Saudi Arabia a pariah state, that we should — he was not going to engage MBS. They’re still engaged in a brutal war in Yemen. And I don’t think that he should go meet with MBS until MBS takes some accountability for the murder of the American journalist and until they bring the war [in] Yemen to an end. But look at the irony, we’re going and begging Saudi Arabia for oil while we’re exporting our own oil around the world. I mean, it makes no sense. And the Saudis are going to play us. I don’t — I have no confidence that the Saudis are going to do something that’s actually going to bring prices down in this country.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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