Support for President Joe Bidenās Energy policy is wearing thin on Capitol Hill.
Even reliable partisan Democratic senators are starting to raise questions about Energy, with the United States failing to produce enough natural gas to mitigate record gas prices.
Policy makers have proposed doubling down on American domestic Energy production, in order to meet Western Energy needs and boost the American economy with new exports.
The Biden administration has failed to act on such an idea, drawing a mild rebuke from a top Senate Democrat.
āI donāt know that thereās a coherent strategy, and if there is, I think the messages are mixed,ā Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine said in a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday.
Kaineās no backbench Senator. You may remember that he ran as Hillary ClintonāsĀ running mate in the 2016 Election.
āI donāt really believe that the U.S. is full-throated leaning into helping our European allies deal with their Energy needs.ā
āRussiaās invasion of Ukraine has spiked Energy prices internationally, with European governments ending the purchase of Russian Energy in the continent.ā
āIf weāre the largest Energy producer in the world and we know that, at least transitionally, our European allies need Energy from sources other than Russia, that us going to Saudi Arabia and say, āPlease produce more Energy when weāre not willing to do it ourselvesā ā I just donāt get it,ā Kaine said, questioning a State Department representative.
The Biden administrationcanceled two major oil extraction leases on federal lands on Wednesday, raising even more questions about Energy production.
Kaine asked State Department representatives if they had considered the cancellation of the gas leases as it pertained to global Energy needs.
The senator also suggested that the Biden administration was creating a situation in which the West would have to ābegā Saudi Arabia for buffed oil production.
Kaine isnāt the only Democrat raising questions about Bidenās Energy policy.
Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a perpetual thorn in Bidenās side, accused the administration of making a ālame excuseā to cancel vital oil production contracts.
Bidenās reluctance to embrace American Energy production has made the Western world reliant on oil imports from states governed by dictators, such as Venezuela, Russia and Saudi Arabia.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.