Jen Psaki says Russian energy sanctions are not 'off the table' as invasion into Ukraine continues
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki joined 'America's Newsroom' to discuss the Biden administration's response to the crisis in Ukraine and preview the president's first State of the Union Address.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., was among those who blasted President Biden for the dependent state of U.S. energy Tuesday, which she said has been exposed during the escalating Russia-Ukraine crisis.
"Last year was a record in the amount of Russian energy that was imported into the United States – that was under Joe Biden’s watch," Stefanik told Fox News Digital.
Reports show that the U.S. is buying 650,000 barrels a day from Russia, a major concern after President Vladimir Putin's deadly invasion of Ukraine, where hundreds of civilians have been killed after six days of violence. Now, the White House faces bipartisan calls for an increase in domestic energy production.
"What's happening in the Ukraine has really highlighted how influential Russian oil and gas is to global markets, and a lot of the volatility we're seeing is coming from that," Daniel Turner, Founder & Executive Director of Power The Future, told Fox News Digital.
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To see it play out in real time, Turner said, is "definitely very alarming."
FILE PHOTO: An oil worker walks toward a drill rig after placing ground monitoring equipment in the vicinity of the underground horizontal drill in Loving County, Texas, U.S., November 22, 2019. (Reuters/Angus Mordant)
Both Stefanik and Turner argued that a resumption of the Keystone XL pipeline would help get America back on track, as the pipeline was expected to bring over 800,000 barrels of oil to market per day. President Biden halted construction of the project last year.
"Keystone is emblematic of just the punishment this administration has doled out to the energy industry at large," Turner said.
"This example of how this administration has punished the fossil fuel industry, punished the infrastructure, and it has also then scared off a lot of investment … This government is making it impossible to bring things to fruition," he continued.
Pipes for the Keystone XL pipeline stacked in a yard near Oyen, Alberta, Canada, on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021. Photographer: Jason Franson/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Psaki told Fox News on Tuesday that the White House had no plans to pursue the pipeline because it would "take years" to have an impact. Stefanik and Turner challenged that notion.
"No, that's a terrible excuse," Turner said, saying that the pipeline "was almost finished" before it got nixed.
"It shows a real ignorance of the energy industry, but it also is kind of an alarming comment coming from an administration that emphasizes infrastructure projects," Turner added. "If Jen Psaki could show me one [infrastructure] project that is going to be online overnight, I'd be curious."
Turner noted that most of the infrastructure projects included in the president's Build Back Better bill could take months and even years.
"So if the timeline is a concern, well then the entire Build Back Better bill should be scrapped because all of their projects are long-term projects," he concluded.
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 11: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks as he gives a primetime address to the nation from the East Room of the White House March 11, 2021 in Washington, D.C. ; Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the Valdai Discussion Club's plenary meeting, on October 21, 2021, in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images | Photo by Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)
"No," Stefanik said when asked if she bought Psaki's explanation. "Jen Psaki – again, they’re trying to pass the buck and come up with any kind of excuse, and it's really atrocious that they’re saying we need more global energy production, which means dirty energy. If you have American energy it is cleaner energy, by definition because of the innovation of our amazing companies that are leaders around the world."
"This is just another example when Jen Psaki is embarrassing herself and embarrassing the United States on the world stage with how she’s answering these questions," Stefanik added.
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Environmental activists and some progressive media have pushed for green solutions in the debate over energy independence – a solution Stefanik and Turner said was not viable.
"The cleanest, healthiest, most prosperous nations on earth are the ones with the most robust fossil fuel industry," Turner said. "And green energy does not replace fossil fuels, it just uses them in a different way. People who do not understand this are either ignorant or have an agenda. The ignorance can be educated, and that is what my organization tries to do. Those with an agenda or a threat to our economy and our national security … they need to be held accountable."
Stefanik said she believes in an "all of the above" approach, which means the use of nuclear, oil and natural gas. She used New York’s moratorium on fracking as an example of one decision that has "devastated" their economy.
"We need to double down on American energy independence rather than the direction this administration is taking us," she concluded.
Psaki said Tuesday that the White House has not taken Russian energy sanctions "off the table."
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