President Joe Biden announced at the White House on Tuesday that the U.S. is banning all imports of oil and gas from Russia to target "the main artery of Russia's economy." The decision comes almost two weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.
"We're banning all imports of Russian oil and gas and energy. That means Russian oil will no longer be acceptable at US ports and the American people will deal another powerful blow to Putin's war machine," President Biden said in his address, as reported by Al Jazeera.
Ukrainian leaders, American politicians, and rights advocates have long called upon the U.S. and its European allies to place sanctions on Russia's oil and gas sector in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's unprovoked attack on Ukraine, which has killed hundreds and forced two million refugees out of the country.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded to President Biden's ban on all imports of Russian oil, saying that the move is "striking in the heart of Putin's war machine" and asked to "encourage other countries and leaders to follow."
But President Biden's decision to ban all imports of Russian oil was criticized by some Republican leaders, including Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton. According to Fox News, the senator said on Tuesday's "The Faulkner Focus" that the president should have also ordered the increase of domestic oil production to stifle the effects of the Russian oil ban, instead looking to Iran and Venezuela for alternative supply.
"This is almost a farce. Rather than trying to produce more oil and gas here at home, apparently, President Biden is going hat-in-hand to the dictator in Venezuela," Sen. Cotton said, explaining that the U.S. does not even recognize the leader as the legitimate head of state in the country.
Sen. Cotton argued further, "Last week in his State of the Union, the president said he wanted to buy American. I agree. The only thing he's apparently unwilling to buy in America is American oil and gas."
A separate Fox News report also said that Republican Rep. Brian Mast of Florida was merely pressured into implementing the Russian oil ban because it was a "political problem" and an "MSNBC news cycle problem." Rep. Mast criticized President Biden for his "war on American energy," which he believes is another reason why prices are soaring in the U.S. today.
Rep. Mast also brought up the Keystone XL Pipeline, which President Biden was heavily opposed to, which the Republican representative said prevented the U.S. from slowly gaining independence from Russian oil and gas. He added that if such projects were not canceled, the U.S. could even provide energy to Europe, which relies on Russia for up to 40% of its gas imports.
Rep. Mast warned that President Biden's decision to "make a new alignment" with Venezuela is a move that would align the U.S. with "the axis of evil."
