US

‘Hammering Blue Collar People’: DeSantis Calls Out Biden Over ‘War’ On US Energy

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Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called out the Biden administration Monday over their efforts to blame Russian president Vladimir Putin for increased prices at the gas pump.

“They’re the cause of a lot of it,” DeSantis said on “Fox and Friends.” “Joe Biden came into office and declared war on American energy. We were energy independent for the first time in my life. When he came into office he had sweeping executive orders to try to kneecap American energy production.”

The Biden administration halted offshore lease sales last month and revoked the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline in January 2021. Many experts believe that efforts by the Biden administration to disincentivize oil and gas production are responsible for higher prices.

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“People are paying at the pump like never before,” DeSantis said, adding that Biden’s spending bills also created inflationary pressure. “It’s hammering blue collar people, working people…it impacts everything in the economy…and so you’re seeing that as the number one driver in the inflation.”

The Consumer Price Index went up 8.6% year-over-year in May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The average price for a gallon of gas climbed over $5 a gallon, according to AAA data.

“Governor DeSantis does not support drilling off the coasts of Florida, and even being faced with the need to consider it is a product of President Biden’s policy failures,” Christina Pushaw told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “The answer to increasing domestic energy production – and, in turn, getting runaway gas prices under control – is to undo the bad policies enacted by the Biden administration, such as canceling the Keystone Pipeline and freezing federal land-leases for drilling.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from TheDCNF.