On Monday, White House Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre could not name anything that President Joe Biden was considering doing to help alleviate rising fuel prices across the country.
A reporter asked Jean-Pierre what else the administration could do “besides tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve” to combat rising gas prices.
“You know, we have — we don’t have an announcement yet on anything — anything to share at this time,” she responded. “You know, but we’re monitoring it. Right? We’re monitoring the prices and we’re making sure that we have tools in our toolbelts that we can — we can — we can try and use. But at this time, I don’t have anything new to share.”
“But just what else are you reviewing?” the reporter pressed. “Because [Energy] Secretary [Jennifer] Granholm has confirmed that is an option that’s on the table, and the President has said there are other tools that you could potentially use. So, could you just lay out what those other options are that he’s considering?”
“So I don’t — again, I don’t — I don’t have anything specific here,” she responded. “The President spoke to this recently. But he’s also asked the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) to crack down on illegal pricing. Right? That is one thing that he did on gouging in the market. And the FTC is responding. But, also, we’re going to continue to monitor the situation and have a number of tools in our arsenal. As I just mentioned, I don’t have anything specific.”
WATCH:
Biden Spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre can’t name ANYTHING the Biden administration is doing to lower gas prices.
“I don’t have anything specific.” pic.twitter.com/9Rh3QKwXo0
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) November 8, 2021
TRANSCRIPT PROVIDED VIA THE WHITE HOUSE:
REPORTER: And on what Secretary Granholm and what she was saying yesterday, what options, besides tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, does the President have to counteract higher gas prices?
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY: So, you know, we’ve — I’ve talked about this a couple of times. You know, we have — we don’t have an announcement yet on anything — anything to share at this time. You know, but we’re monitoring it. Right? We’re monitoring the prices and we’re making sure that we have tools in our toolbelts that we can — we can — we can try and use. But at this time, I don’t have anything new to share.
REPORTER: But just what else are you reviewing? Because Secretary Granholm has confirmed that is an option that’s on the table, and the President has said there are other tools that you could potentially use. So, could you just lay out what those other options are that he’s considering?
JEAN-PIERRE: So I don’t — again, I don’t — I don’t have anything specific here. The President spoke to this recently. But he’s also asked the FTC to crack down on illegal pricing. Right? That is one thing that he did on gouging in the market. And the FTC is responding. But, also, we’re going to continue to monitor the situation and have a number of tools in our arsenal. As I just mentioned, I don’t have anything specific.