White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki claimed on Monday that President Joe Biden was doing everything he could to bring down the price of gasoline just as prices reached a new all-time high.
Psaki also said that no decision has been made yet by the administration on whether they will ban imports of Russian oil amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“I want to read to you if I could, Jen, some comments from people we’ve met at gas stations today, one woman saying, ‘I just never imagined to see the cost of gas be this high,’” a reporter said at the press conference. “Another said, ‘it’s a huge stressor to my financial situation, a huge stressor. It’s kind of like something I’m stressed about, like during the day, will I be able to afford gas? How much money do I have?’”
“What is the White House, what is the President’s message to Americans who are going to the gas station today and seeing prices?” the reporter asked.
“Well, the President’s message is that he’s going to do everything we can, everything he can to reduce the impact on the American people, including the price of gas at the tank,” Psaki responded.
Psaki then proceeded to blame high gas prices on Russian President Vladimir Putin for invading Ukraine.
CBS's @EdOKeefe: "What is the White House–what is the President's message to Americans going to the gas station today & seeing prices so high?"
Psaki: "Well, the President's message is…he's going to do…everything he can, to reduce the impact…including the price of gas." pic.twitter.com/9jxDySMCGn
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) March 7, 2022
“No decision has been made at this point by the president about a ban … a ban on importing oil from Russia,” Psaki continued. “And those discussions are ongoing internally, and also with our counterparts and partners in Europe and around the world. I would note that what the President is most focused on is ensuring we are continuing to take steps to deliver punishing economic consequences on Putin while taking all action necessary to limit the impact to prices at the gas pump.”
Psaki on whether Biden would sign bipartisan legislation to ban Russian oil: "No decision has been made…[T]hose discussions are ongoing internally & also w/our counterparts and partners[.]"
She also downplayed Russian oil b/c it was only 700k barrels/day pre-invasion pic.twitter.com/xhubEFzcyW
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) March 7, 2022
Psaki’s remarks come after gas prices broke an all-time record in the U.S. on Monday, according to fuel savings platform.
“The national average price of gasoline in the U.S. today broke the existing record, rewriting the all-time high to today’s $4.104 per gallon,” GasBuddy reported. “The previous all-time high was set back in 2008 at $4.103 per gallon, just ahead of the U.S. Great Recession and housing crisis.”
“In addition to setting a new all-time high, the national average is seeing its largest ever 7 day spike: 49.1 cents per gallon, eclipsing the 49.0 cent weekly rise after Hurricane Katrina in 2005,” the company’s statement continued. “On Saturday, the U.S. national average gas price surpassed $4 per gallon for the first time since 2008, and Friday’s spike alone came close to the record daily rise of 18 cents per gallon, increasing nearly 16 cents per gallon in one day. Diesel prices, however, did break records on Friday, as diesel soared to its largest daily gain ever: 22.2 cents per gallon, 6 cents higher than the previous record from 2013.”
This report has been updated to include additional information.