During his four-year term, Joe Biden and his administration implemented a range of cost and damage policies. Fortunately, voters grew weary of rising energy prices and ultimately confined this agenda to just one presidency in the elections last November.
Now, cleaning up the aftermath falls on President Donald Trump and his team. On a brighter note, he has chosen skilled and passionate energy appointees like EPA administrator Lee Zeldin, Interior Secretary Doug Burgham, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright.
One costly move by former President Biden regarding U.S. national security was his decision to draw from the strategic oil reserve as a political tool for the 2022 midterm elections. Earlier that year, Biden initiated a program that rapidly depleted the contents of the reserve, pulling a million barrels per day from underground salt caves intended to hold crude oil for up to 180 days in hopes of reducing gas prices at the pump.
In a recent interview with radio host Glenn Beck, Secretary Wright indicated that this swift withdrawal has compromised the integrity of those salt caves. He noted that much of the budget of his department would need to be allocated to repair the infrastructure before refilling them. “Biden flooded the market with oil and temporarily lowered prices, but it damaged our strategic positioning,” Wright explained. “We now face over $100 million in repairs that are hard to undertake.”
For some context, the strategic petroleum reserve was established by Congress and President Gerald Ford in response to the first Arab oil embargo, which led to severe gasoline shortages in the 1970s. The reserve was meant to bolster national security during emergencies, not to serve as a political tool.
“That’s when things get really difficult,” Wright commented. “The world literally runs on oil. Without it, you find yourself in a vulnerable position regarding economics, defense, and healthcare.”
In March, Secretary Wright announced an ambitious plan to replenish the reserve, estimating it would cost about $70 per barrel, totaling around $20 billion. He also mentioned that due to the extent of Biden’s withdrawals, refilling the reserve could take four to six years. “Filling it is inherently slower than drawing from it,” Wright said. “We’ve committed to replenishing it over several years, but we jeopardized national security for short-term electoral gains.”
It’s worth noting that Wright hopes to capitalize on the current lower oil prices, which sit around $60 per barrel. This approach mirrors the “Buy Low, Sell High” strategy often applied in stock markets.
However, the Department of Energy’s buyback program can’t commence until the damage done by Biden’s missteps are addressed. That process takes time, during which oil prices might fluctuate significantly.
“Energy is the backbone of life,” Wright reminded Beck. “It shouldn’t be politicized.” Unfortunately, that’s precisely what happened under Biden’s administration, leaving a complex situation for his successors to untangle.
