After the OPEC cartel said Wednesday it would cut oil production, congressional Republicans criticized the Biden administration’s energy policy, Sen. Joe Manchin III used the moment to pitch his stalled permitting proposal and other Democrats said the development underscores the need to break from fossil fuels.
At a meeting at OPEC headquarters in Vienna, Austria, the bloc of oil-producing nations, with support from Russia, said it would cut production by 2 million barrels per day beginning in November.
Within the administration, national security adviser Jake Sullivan and National Economic Council Director Brian Deese criticized the decision, calling it “shortsighted” and a response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As oil prices ticked up in the hours following the announcement, the pair said the administration would consult with Congress on strategies to blunt OPEC’s control over global oil prices.
