President Biden rolled out a sanctions package against Russia just days after their invasion of Ukraine but did virtually nothing to crack down on one of their most significant sources of revenue; Russian natural gas. Biden said that ‘all options’ were on the table when asked about cutting off Russian gas imports earlier this week.

Today, his administration said that they would not be cutting off Russian imports, or allowing the construction of the Keystone Pipeline to set the U.S on a path towards energy independence. But, when reporters wanted more answers about the issue at a Cabinet meeting today, the press was kicked out of the room after a tense exchange with Biden staffers.  The Daily Mail Reports-

 

 

“Reporters shouted down President Biden on Thursday as he took part in a Cabinet meeting.

‘Will you ban Russian oil?’ a reporter asked as the press pool was ushered out of the meeting before the Cabinet began its discussion.

‘He said No! Let’s go!’ a Biden staffer said as they ushered press out of the room. ‘No, he didn’t.’ ‘He didn’t respond to anything,’ multiple reporters were heard grumbling.

Biden briefly addressed the matter a day earlier when he replied to a reporter asking about Russian gas bans: ‘nothing is off the table.”

One reporter accused the Biden administration of ‘financing’ Russia’s war in Ukraine by continuing to purchase Russian gas in a press conference earlier this week. Psaki responded by saying that Russian gas only makes up about ’10 percent’ of our imports.

Beyond refusing to import Russian gas after their invasion of Ukraine, Biden also waived Trump’s sanctions against companies assisting Gazprom in its construction after being in office for only four months.  Biden could have at minimum used the sanctions as leverage to prevent Russia from invading Ukraine.  Instead, he reversed Trump’s sanctions without getting anything from Russia.

 

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