Trump administration officials assured members of Congress on Tuesday that they will take additional steps in the coming days to rein in oil and gas prices as the war in the Middle East continues to roil global energy markets.
The Department of Energy and other federal agencies are expected to unveil a new plan before the end of the week that could prevent gasoline prices from rising even more than they already have, according to four Republican and Democratic senators who attended a closed-door briefing with administration officials.
The behind-the-scenes scramble to mitigate domestic surges in energy prices comes after President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that the federal government will provide insurance guarantees for all maritime trade — “especially Energy” — and use the Navy to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.
Those efforts, and the additional moves the administration is expected to announce this week, illustrate the lengths the White House is going to soothe concerns about rising energy prices and sidestep political headwinds on a major affordability issue.
“You’re seeing the markets really starting to get nervous about energy uncertainty and transport,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.). “It’s probably a smart move to provide certainty.”
Still, the details of the upcoming plan are unclear. The White House and the Department of Energy did not respond to questions about the upcoming announcement.
Some senators said they want to hear directly from Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who was not at Tuesday’s congressional briefings. Committees of jurisdiction had not publicly announced any meetings with Wright as of Tuesday night.
“I would expect there will be a briefing on energy, there’ll be a brief briefing on, you know, our reserves,” said Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.). “There’s going to have to be a lot of follow-up.”
Leaving the briefing with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other officials, senators were still getting up to speed on the administration’s announcement that it would support oil tankers crossing the Strait of Hormuz.
The U.S. International Development Finance Corp., Trump said, will provide “at a very reasonable price, political risk insurance and guarantees for the Financial Security of ALL Maritime Trade, especially ENERGY, traveling through the [Persian] Gulf.”
The Strait of Hormuz at the eastern end of the Gulf is a major artery for crude and liquefied natural gas shipments, hosting about 20 percent of the world’s maritime oil trade. Iran has fired on some ships trying to traverse the strait, and some marine insurance companies have canceled coverage for tankers in the region.
“If necessary, the United States Navy will begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, as soon as possible,” Trump said on social media. “No matter what, the United States will ensure the FREE FLOW of ENERGY to the WORLD.”
Trump added, “More actions to come.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said on social media Monday that the strait is effectively closed, wreaking havoc on oil and gas prices. He said there are efforts underway to build a “coalition” to use militaries and other assets to “resume and secure traffic in these sea lanes.”
Trump’s announcement helped blunt the uptick in oil prices, which had added more than $10 per barrel since the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday. The national average price of gasoline had already gone up 12 cents Monday — the largest single-day increase in four years, according to GasBuddy.
“They’re taking the appropriate action,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), noting that American and allied forces have already decimated Iran’s navy.
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) also pointed to the destruction of Iranian naval ships, calling it “pretty noble.”
“Escorting ships through the straits — I mean it’s a new thing recently, but it’s not always been a new thing,” Cramer said. “So, that’ll be helpful.”
Earlier this week, five House Democrats on national security, intelligence and appropriations committees sent a letter to administration officials asking them to address six key questions, including maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz.
“What is the long term risk to access to, and through the strait for commercial traffic?” the Democrats wrote. “If oil flows do not resume shortly, it will have impact on Americans’ electric bills and gas bills in addition to global energy markets.”
Those questions did not appear to be answered in Tuesday’s briefings. Lawmakers said they are still awaiting details.
“What we heard in there was that they’re coming out with a plan. They didn’t share the plan,” Cramer said leaving the Senate briefing. “Of course, none of the experts on that topic were there.”
Amelia Davidson and Pavan Acharya contributed to this report.
