Top Democrats are slamming GOP calls for a diesel export ban to help lower fuel prices as a “gimmick” and an inadequate substitute for ending the war in Iran.
President Trump has said he is considering a diesel export ban amid an increasing number of GOP lawmakers and congressional candidates calling for such action.
“The best way to get prices down, whether it is diesel or gasoline, is end the damn war,” said Senate Democratic Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York on Wednesday. “All these other devices are half-baked and will not solve the problem.”
Diesel prices have steadily increased in recent weeks, hitting a record nationwide average of $6.53 per gallon on Tuesday.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said sky-high diesel prices are a direct result of Mr. Trump’s “reckless and costly war of choice in Iran.”
“Republicans can try one gimmick after the other, but they refuse to deal with the source of the problem,” the New York Democrats said. “Go tell Donald Trump to end that war in Iran that no one in America asked for in the first place.”
Mr. Trump said he does not expect the war in Iran to end until after the midterms but has blamed high diesel prices on a different foreign conflict.
“Russia has unfortunately lost control of its Diesel Oil Industry due to its War with Ukraine,” he said on Truth Social earlier this week. “A large number of their Diesel refineries have been blown up and are, at least temporarily, out of commission. This ridiculous and never-ending war with Ukraine must be ended.”
Republicans, however, are still mostly talking about diesel prices in the context of the Iran war.
In Michigan, GOP Senate candidate Mike Rogers released a new ad calling for “a temporary embargo on American diesel exports” until the war in Iran is over, saying it would increase the supply available to U.S. farmers and truckers and put downward pressure on prices.
“The war with Iran needs to end and end quickly,” he said in the ad. “When it does, energy costs will plummet.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the Trump administration is “working aggressively” to conclude the conflict.
“Obviously, we are hopeful that the administration’s efforts will lead to getting the Strait of Hormuz open, getting the shipping lanes open and taking some of the pressure off of the American people’s pocketbooks via a lower price at the pump for gasoline,” the South Dakota Republican said.
As to the idea to ban diesel exports, Mr. Thune said there are different points of view in his conference and questions about whether a temporary ban would actually help lower prices at the pump.
“If the White House decides they want to move forward, they’ve got some proposal that they want to get in front of us, we’ll be happy to entertain it,” he said.
Sen. James Lankford, Oklahoma Republican, said he worries that an export ban would lead to a reduction in diesel production, which would not drive down prices in the short term and “long term, especially, could have a really negative effect.”
“The refined product is the biggest issue. It’s not just the oil, the crude,” he said.
That is why the attacks on Russian oil refineries are having an impact on global supply and diesel prices in the U.S., where a new refinery has not been built in decades because of strict environmental laws.
“We’ve got expansions of existing [refineries], but we’re not increasing the capacity here,” Mr. Lankford said. “So it’s been this ticking time bomb that’s been going on for years.”
Contact the author
Please read our comment policy before commenting.