The White House on Wednesday accused American oil companies of using the war in Ukraine to achieve record profits, urging them to produce more gas.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre began the daily press briefing by pointing out that oil companies continued to make record profits while prices continued to climb.
“We are calling on them to do the right thing. To be patriots here and not to use the war as an excuse or a reason to not put out production,” she said.
Jean-Pierre followed up on Biden’s stern letter to oil companies sent Wednesday morning, threatening to use his war powers to force companies to produce more gas.
“We see that as an important first step in making sure the oil refineries are doing their part, again patriotic duty, in making sure they’re putting out capacity,” she said.
She did not share any specific ideas about how the president would use the Defense Production Act to increase the production of more oil and gas.
Jean-Pierre repeatedly accused the oil companies of taking advantage of the war in Ukraine to make more money.
“The facts are the facts,” she said bluntly.
The Biden administration issued the letter Wednesday threatening oil refineries despite its own record of blocking domestic energy development and production.
During the 2020 presidential campaign, Biden repeatedly vowed he would end oil drilling on federal land and shift the American economy away from fossil fuels.
“No more drilling, including offshore. No ability for the oil industry to continue to drill, period,” Biden promised during a Democrat debate. “It ends.”
The White House indicated the leaders of oil companies would meet with Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm later this week.