Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley said Thursday night that President Joe Biden does not believe in American strength and urged him to ramp up domestic energy production in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking at CPAC, an annual conference for conservative Republicans held in Orlando this year, Hawley attributed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine to Biden’s decisions over energy production in the United States and his decision to waive sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline between Russia and Germany.
“Is it any wonder that Vladimir Putin feels emboldened to do whatever the heck it is he wants to do,” Hawley asked the crowd, “is it any wonder that China feels emboldened to do whatever it is the heck that they want to do, when we have a president who doesn’t believe in American strength, who doesn’t believe in American energy, who doesn’t believe in American jobs and has no sense of the priorities and challenges that are threatening this country?”
Hawley’s comments came less than 24 hours after Russia mounted a large-scale attack on Ukraine, shelling cities and moving troops through the country in what appeared to be an attempt to capture Kyev, Ukraine’s capital.
Earlier Thursday Biden issued sanctions against Russia’s economy, saying the administration would hold up western financing to the country, cut off its largest banks, limit high tech exports to Russia freeze the assets of Russian elites. The sanctions came in coordination with European allies as an attempt to punish Putin for the invasion.
Germany halted approval of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline on Tuesday in response to Russia’s escalation in Ukraine.
Hawley focused instead on energy production, pledging to introduce a bill on Monday that would “open back up American energy production in this country 100 percent.”
It is unlikely legislation proposed by Hawley will pass. Congress is controlled by the Democratic Party and last week, Congress was unable to find bipartisan agreement to sanction Russia. Instead they approved a resolution denouncing Putin, an essentially symbolic gesture.
While the United States is one of the world’s largest energy producers, the Biden administration has halted production in some areas of the country over concerns about the environment and Native American cultural and sacred sites. The administration has also made it clear that it intends to pivot away from fossil fuels and bolster sustainable sources of energy as the world attempts to stave off the effects of climate change.
In 2019 and 2020, the United States produced more energy than it consumed and exported more energy than it imported, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. America imports most of its oil and gas from Canada and Mexico. The European Union relies heavily on imports from Russia. Already, the global price of oil has increased following Russia’s invasion.
Hawley has been critical of the Biden administration’s foreign policy over the past year. He has blocked nominees to the Departments of Defense and State for what he says is a lack of accountability for the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Earlier this month, he wrote a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggesting that the United States drop its support for Ukraine joining NATO, an alliance with European allies formed during the Cold War, so that more military forces could be focused in China.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki accused him of “parroting” Russian propaganda.
