President Donald Trump‘s Energy Secretary, Chris Wright, says former President Joe Biden-era Clean Energy policies also share some blame for the high fuel prices at the pump amid ongoing tensions with Iran.
Biden-Era Clean Energy Policies Causing High Gas Prices
Wright, during an interview with Fox News on Monday, reaffirmed that the U.S. military was escorting ships through the Strait of Hormuz and that the estimates did not reflect the actual movement of oil through the waterway. He said that 30 ships passed through the waterway.
Read Also: Trump Says US Has ‘Total Control’ of Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s PGSA Says Waterway Remains 'Blocked'
The Energy Secretary then pointed to the price of oil was “far higher during the Biden administration when there wasn’t disruption of [oil] flow in the Middle East.” He also blamed “Democratic policies” as a reason behind high energy costs at the state and Federal level.
“Electricity prices are more than 40% higher” in Democrat states, adding that fuel costs were also 40 to 50 cents per gallon higher in Democrat-run states due to Clean Energy policies. “Foolish green energy policies are at least as responsible for the high energy prices as the conflict with Iran,” he said.
Chris Wright Touts More Oil Production
Meanwhile, Trump’s Rapid Response handle on X touted an increase in oil production, sharing a video of Wright from Texas’s Permian Basin. “We can produce more oil and gas at less cost than we could ever before,” Wright said. He added that oil production has “quadrupled” in the Permian Basin and “natural gas production has grown seven-fold.”
.@SecretaryWright at the Permian Basin in West Texas: "We can produce more oil and gas at less cost than we ever could before. In the past decade, oil production in this basin — America's largest oilfield — has quadrupled. Natural gas production has grown sevenfold. pic.twitter.com/H5ApgbD2f3
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 17, 2026
Chuck Schumer Slams Trump
Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) slammed Trump as tensions continue to escalate with Iran after the deadline to reach a deal between the two parties expired. “Trump’s memorandum of misunderstanding with Iran has been an utter failure and complete flop,” Schumer said.
Meanwhile, Trump says he would not apologize for $4/gallon gas in the U.S., saying that higher prices were “ok” since the U.S. was pursuing Iran’s denuclearization.
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