CHALMETTE, LA – Republican governors Accusing President Biden of “doing nothing but attack American energy” and urging the president to end his “regulatory war” to lower fuel and food prices for people across the country.
Seven Republican governors stand in front of a large building oil refinery A survey along the Mississippi River a few miles east of New Orleans, Louisiana, also highlighted “a comprehensive list of immediate steps that must be taken to unleash American energy independence.”
“From day one, President Biden has done nothing but attack American energy,” claimed Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry. “He halted new oil and gas leases. He canceled the Keystone pipeline. He prioritized foreign energy over domestic energy, which means he prioritized foreign jobs over domestic jobs. The Department of Energy and the EPA are issuing rules and regulations at a breakneck pace.”
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt highlighted a joint letter signed by 20 GOP governors in which they list “simple steps” the Biden administration can take to reduce regulations and “adopt an all-of-the-above domestic energy plan.”
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Republican Gov. Jeff Landry, speaking on stage, joined by (left to right) Governors Mike Dunleavy of Alaska, Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, Brian Kemp of Georgia, Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, Glenn Unkin of Virginia and Doug Burgum of North Dakota at a news conference to criticize President Biden’s energy policy at an oil refinery in Chalmette, Louisiana, June 3, 2024. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
Stitt said this includes “eliminating regulatory overreach that is restricting and raising the cost of domestic energy production, increasing the number and quality of onshore and offshore lease sales for all types of energy production, and expediting the approval of federal drilling permits.”
He also called for “expanding critical mineral mining and processing to counter China”.
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The news conference was led by Landry and Stitt and included governors Mike Dunleavy of Alaska, Brian Kemp of Georgia, Glenn Youngkin of Virginia, Chris Sununu of New Hampshire and Doug Burgum of North Dakota, who are all considered to be on former President Donald Trump’s list of 2024 vice presidential candidates.
While the country has been producing more oil than any other country in history for six consecutive years – according to the report US Energy Information AdministrationThe governors said that oil production should be increased.
“We’re producing about 13 million barrels of oil a day. We should be producing 15, 16, 18, 20 million barrels of oil a day,” Burgum insisted. “It would not only be energy independence, it would be energy dominance. We would sell it to our allies, rather than our allies having to buy it from our enemies.”
When asked about climate change, The governors responded He argued that the U.S. produces fuel more cleanly than other countries, and argued that red states are leading the way in green energy, including wind power generation.
“Our goal is not to harm the environment,” Dunleavy said. “If you don’t do it in the U.S. and you do it overseas, there’s no EPA overseas, there’s no Army Corps overseas.”
The governors also argued that energy is also a matter of national security.
“If the Biden administration continues this campaign to suppress our domestic industry and make demands on Chinese industry, we will exacerbate an already existing national security crisis,” Youngkin claimed.
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The Democratic National Committee responded to criticism from Republican governors by emphasizing that “President Biden has put millions of Americans to work in the energy sector with new, good-paying jobs that are fueling the 21st century economy.”
And DNC spokesman Alex Floyd charged that “While President Biden is out walking and chewing gum — fighting for American workers while driving down energy costs — Donald Trump is trying to sell America’s energy policy to the highest bidder. Trump will threaten President Biden’s Rolling back tax relief that would boost American-made energy and reduce energy costs for working families – all so Trump can trade favors with his big oil and gas supporters for campaign cash. Trump’s pay-for-play energy agenda would prioritize special interest donors over hardworking families and American energy production.”
President Joe Biden speaks about gas prices in the South Court Auditorium of the White House complex on Wednesday, June 22, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
But speaking to Fox News Digital, Landry argued that “I don’t think the American people can afford four more years of Joe Biden … We know we’ll get what we got before under President Trump, which is lower energy prices, more economic activity and a better quality of life for all Americans.”
Kemp and Sununu, who have had sharp disagreements with the former president in recent years, said in exclusive interviews with Fox News that a second Trump administration would be better than four more years of Biden in the White House.
Asked whether a second Trump administration would be friendlier to the energy sector, Kemp pointed to the former president’s efforts to reduce government regulations during his four years in the White House, and said “I think that would be a big difference.”
Sununu agreed, saying, “Ask every single American who is paying more at the pump, paying more for food, because it costs more to grow crops, it costs more to transport every product into America. It costs more to make every product in America.”
