Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm called it a “fact” that gas prices are “too high,” saying the public is experiencing a “short-term pinch” amid the transition to green energy. She called the administration’s efforts “a bridge to a longer-term issue.”

But questions about the administration’s response to surging gas prices, including a plan to tap the country’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve to release 50 million barrels of oil, about three days worth of supply, prompted vague answers.