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‘Not too much they can do about it’: Frustrated White House faces spiking oil prices

Wars in the Middle East and Europe are driving oil and diesel prices higher, leaving the White House with few quick fixes as Republicans head into the midterms.

By Scott Waldman and James Bikales

The widening conflicts in the Middle East and Europe are plunging global energy markets deeper into crisis and domestic fuel manufacturers are starting to show signs of strain.

Now, with the midterm elections less than two months away, President Donald Trump and a frustrated White House appear to have few options available to ease the rally in oil prices that has imperiled the GOP hold on Congress.

There is little hope for a quick resolution to the Iran war. A key Saudi Arabian pipeline is now shut down for a few weeks after an attack. An Iranian proxy group has strengthened its control over a second global energy choke point. Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries are challenging diesel fuel production. Tankers crossing the Strait of Hormuz are getting hit.

It has resulted in prices at the pump spiking just as Republican lawmakers are set to face voters. The price of a global barrel of oil jumped to $109 on Monday, the highest since May. The price of a gallon of diesel is now at the record high of $6.23 while a gallon of regular gas is $4.32, according to AAA.

The mood inside the White House is “frustration they can’t get this resolved,” said Stephen Moore, a former Trump economic adviser. He said the high energy prices are a “tax on the economy” that is overcoming some positive fundamentals such as the rise of retirement savings and the growth of the stock market.

“The problem is there’s not too much they can do about it,” he said. “It’s a global market, it’s a global oil supply.”

That’s causing “anxiety” inside the White House, according to an outside energy adviser, granted anonymity to speak candidly. For one thing, there are few immediate mechanisms available to the administration to bring down prices.

“They’re still looking for magic bullets,” the former adviser said.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the Saudi East-West pipeline, which was shut down last week after a series of drone attacks, would be operational “very soon,” though he declined to offer details, saying that more information would be available Tuesday. The pipeline’s operator, Saudi Aramco, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum acknowledged at the G20 energy minister summit in Dallas that prices were high but insisted that it was only a temporary issue. Burgum attempted to contrast the rise in prices that have come in the aftermath of the U.S. and Israel attack against Iran in February with the Biden administration’s attempt to drive renewable energy production to replace fossil fuels.

“This is a temporary disruption instead of a strategic direction of the prior administration,” Burgum said in front of the audience of foreign dignitaries and energy industry officials.

President Donald Trump, who had successfully jawboned market prices lower in previous months, attempted the same in a series of social media posts Monday.

He wrote on Truth Social that “Oil is flowing through the Hormuz Strait.” He also wrote that “Iran wants to make a deal, quickly and badly,” which his administration was “open to.” He stated that Ukraine and Russia had agreed to stop striking energy infrastructure, because the “World’s Diesel price rise is mostly caused by the Russia/Ukraine War, not Iran.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy quickly noted that no such agreement had been made.

Despite Trump’s posts, oil prices hovered near four-month highs.

White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said the administration was actively working to cut energy prices, including meeting with global and industry leaders to “discuss diversifying supply chains, expanding refining capacity, and increasing production.”

“President Trump remains committed to unleashing American energy dominance, cutting costs, and putting more money back in the pockets of hardworking American families,” she said in a statement.

Adding to the overall woes, some refineries in the United States are showing signs of stress after months of running nearly full-out to keep up fuel supply. The ExxonMobil refinery in Joliet, Illinois, experienced a power outage Sunday that will reduce its output until the end of the week.

ExxonMobil spokesperson Liza Steger said in a statement Monday morning that the company is assessing the refinery’s status and the cause of the outage was under investigation.

One industry official said the incident was just another warning sign that diesel prices in particular are at risk of spiking further, especially heading into the fall and winter, when diesel demand is highest.

“It’s not normal for refineries to run at 95 plus percent utilization for [six] months, and then when our inventories of diesel are lower than they normally are, any additional trip in that system is just going to have a much bigger price pop than it otherwise would normally,” the official said.

Wright said he is confident there will be a “rapid increase” in the flow of oil and refined products out of the Middle East in the coming weeks, citing conversations with the U.S. military and exporting companies. He added that he expects U.S. refiners to increase their throughput thanks to relaxed biofuel blending requirements, while more Russian and Chinese refining capacity comes back online.