Trump sought to purchase oil for the SPR in 2020 and was criticized
Sen. Chuck Schumer dodges on whether he pushed Biden to drop out
Sen. Chuck Schumer dodged multiple questions about whether he told President Biden to drop out of the race during a meeting in early July during an interview on CBS' "Face the Nation."
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., didn't criticize President Biden's Department of Energy for a massive oil purchase to help replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), despite slamming former President Trump in 2020 for attempting to include a similar purchase in a stimulus package.
The DOE announced a 4.65 million barrel oil purchase on Monday for the purpose of working to replenish the SPR, which has been tapped by the Biden administration to assist with high gas prices. The department bought the oil for an average price of $77.
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Schumer did not criticize Biden's oil purchase in the same manner he did a similar requested purchase under Trump. (Getty Images)
"From the beginning, this administration has put the economic and energy security of the American people first. This milestone is a proof point that when the Biden-Harris Administration makes and implements a plan, we deliver for the American people," Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said in a statement.
"As promised, we have secured the 180 million barrels back to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve released in response to Putin’s war in Ukraine – and we accomplished this while getting a good deal for taxpayers and maintaining the readiness of the world’s largest Strategic Petroleum Reserve," she continued.
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Granholm announced the addition to the reserve to replenish the supply. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
There was little response to the oil purchase, which was not heavily advertised by the president or the White House. For Democrat and Republican lawmakers, it went largely undetected as the investigation into the failures that led to the attempted assassination of Trump earlier this month attracted most of their attention. Further, two key pieces of legislation related to online safety for minors and a potential expansion to the child tax credit were slated for votes during the week, drawing additional attention away.
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Schumer didn't comment on Biden's oil purchase. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Schumer's office did not provide comment to Fox News Digital when asked if there was a difference between Trump and Biden's oil purchases for the SPR and whether the president was similarly "bailing out" large oil companies.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Trump's administration sought to include $3 billion for purchasing oil to replenish the SPR at a low price in the $2 trillion pandemic stimulus package. Oil was roughly $30 per barrel in March 2020 as prices trended sharply downward. The Trump administration's proposal was ultimately excluded from the final draft of the legislation following significant push back from Democrats.
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A lone oil barrel is pictured near the Kokalik river, which winds through the National Petroleum Reserve in northern Alaska. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
Schumer had referred to the Trump administration's request as a "$3 billion bailout for big oil," as reported at the time by Roll Call.
The Trump campaign did not provide comment to Fox News Digital.
Julia Johnson is a politics writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business, leading coverage of the U.S. Senate. She was previously a politics reporter at the Washington Examiner.
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