The White House is downplaying a surprise decision by OPEC+ energy producers to slash oil production, threatening to prolong inflation in the U.S. economy, a political liability for President Joe Biden.
Oil prices surged on Monday after the Saudi-led coalition announced a cut of more than 1 million barrels per day. Saudi Arabia called the move “precautionary” and said it aimed to support market stability.
DESANTIS HAMPERED BY TRUMP BRANDING AS ‘MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT’
The move comes after Biden promised to hold Saudi Arabia accountable for defying his administration over production cuts ahead of the midterm elections before aides moved to temper the president’s pledge. At the time, White House officials slammed the move as “misguided” and charged that the consortium had aligned itself with Russian President Vladimir Putin by causing prices to rise.
The October OPEC+ cut hardened congressional opposition to Saudi Arabia, with bipartisan lawmakers urging new tools to reassess U.S. security assistance for Riyadh, even as the White House moved to cool bilateral tensions.
Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said the Biden administration is heeding Saudi’s cues as the Kingdom fosters closer ties with China and Russia.
A China-brokered deal to revive diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and rival Iran is one example of the moves indicating a potential reordering of regional alliances, a shift the White House has said it welcomes. China is also a top trading partner for Saudi Arabia, as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Kingdom’s 37-year-old de facto leader, looks to grow his country’s economy.
“The White House is getting the message that Saudi Arabia is not an ally of the United States,” said Miller, a former State Department Middle East analyst and negotiator. “Between Russia and China, and [the crown prince’s] episodic middle finger to the United States and the Biden administration, we have a strategic shift.”
Biden traveled to Jeddah last summer in a bid to repair ties between the United States and Saudi Arabia, a relationship his administration views as essential to preserving regional stability.
Biden aides have sought to minimize tension with Saudi, downplaying Biden’s pledge to reevaluate the bilateral relationship by dismissing expectations for “a homework assignment.”
Instead, the Biden administration has argued that the president is focused on pursuing positive outcomes for the public by lowering gas prices and boosting jobs and manufacturing through a recent multibillion-dollar aerospace deal.
The White House told reporters on Monday that it was notified of the OPEC+ announcement ahead of time but did not know why the decision was made.
“We were given a heads up,” said John Kirby, coordinator for strategic communications at the National Security Council.
Asked whether it stemmed from the administration’s move to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Kirby responded, “I would just say that I can’t even begin to speculate why this decision was made.”
Still, Kirby and other aides pushed back against the decision throughout the day.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“We don’t think that production cuts are advisable at this moment given market uncertainty. And we made that clear,” Kirby said.
“This is an inadvisable decision to make given the instability in the markets,” Olivia Dalton, White House principal deputy press secretary, told reporters on Air Force One.
