Biden pressured Dem Senators to support Russian gas purchases

 Axios:

Biden administration officials pressured some Democratic senators not to support bipartisan legislation by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) that would ban oil and gas imports from Russia, Senate Democratic aides told Axios.

Why it matters: The quiet lobbying campaign reveals a White House intent on preserving President Biden's authority to decide what costs to impose on Russia for invading Ukraine — and on what timetable.

• It also indicates his advisers' frustration with congressional efforts to box him in.
• The White House on Friday signaled it is open to reducing the import of Russian oil — without saying exactly how.

The big picture: A ban could translate to higher prices at the pump in parts of the U.S. and increase inflation, a key concern for Biden.

• It also could force other countries to follow suit — sending oil prices soaring around the globe. Russia, the world’s third-largest oil producer, sends most of its petroleum products to Europe and Asia.

By the numbers: Oil from Russia accounted for roughly 3% of U.S. crude imports in 2021.

• It's mostly imported in Hawaii and the coasts, where refiners don’t have access to the pipelines connecting the big domestic oil fields in places like the southwest's Permian Basin.
• Energy analysts and economists disagree about how much of a price spike an import ban would generate.

Driving the news: Cecilia Rouse, chair of the Council of Economic Advisors, told reporters on Friday: "We are looking at options that we can take right now, if we were to cut the U.S. consumption of Russian energy, but what’s really most important is that we maintain a steady supply of global energy.”

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The administration position makes no sense, especially for the long term.  We were doing quite better without Russian gas before Biden came into office.  It was his ridiculous restrictions on the domestic supply that caused the purchase of Russian oil.  It was a nonsensical move allegedly based on a transition from fossil fuels that the left wants to do.  If Europe needs to keep buying it while the US ramps up production that is one thing, but it makes zero sense for the US to be purchasing Russian oil and financing Putin's war.  Democrats should pay a political price for their war against American energy.