‘Ironic’ for Biden to Beg Saudi Arabia for Oil But Label American Producers ‘Criminals’: Ex-GOP Senator

Former Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) has called President Joe Biden’s upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia “ironic” in light of the president’s sharp criticism of America’s oil industry and what Gregg blasted as the Biden administration’s “green think” undermining U.S. investment in crude production.

Gregg, who also served as governor of New Hampshire, made the remarks on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” in an interview that aired on July 10, ahead of Biden’s planned visit to Saudi Arabia this week.

During his visit to the Kindgdom, the president is expected to press Saudi leaders to pump more crude in a bid to cool soaring gasoline costs that have frustrated American drivers.

Responding to a question about whether the Biden administration should be looking to boost domestic crude production by taking measures like expanding drilling leases or reviving the Keystone XL pipeline, Gregg responded in the affirmative.

“In 2019, we had over 1,000 rigs pumping oil at $50 a barrel. Today we’re down to 750 rigs and the price of oil is twice that,” he said.

Refinery workers walk inside the LyondellBasell oil refinery in Houston, Texas, on March 6, 2013. (Donna Carson/File Photo/File Photo/Reuters) ‘Undermined by Green Think’

Gregg said it’s not that the U.S. crude industry is lacking price incentives to ramp up production; the problem is that investment in oil infrastructure is done over a long time horizon, which requires a stable outlook. But that outlook has been undermined by the Biden administration’s hostile attitude toward fossil fuels, he argued.

“That’s been undermined by green think and by the attitude of this Administration, which at some levels has actually called the oil industry criminals, and they are going to Saudi Arabia, which is ironic,” Gregg said.

While Gregg did not elaborate on his claim that the Biden administration has effectively labeled U.S.