Republicans have launched a new investigation into President Joe Biden’s pause on liquefied natural gas exports, saying the temporary ban appears to be a measure designed to calm environmentalists during an election year.
After pausing the approval process for new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export applications in January, the government has faced questions about why the pause was necessary.
Republicans are now trying to discover whether White House climate advisers could have tipped off the Department of Energy (DOE) about the potential election-year benefits the pause in LNG application could provide.
GOP members of the House Oversight Committee demanded documents and communications between DOE climate advisers John Podesta and Ali Zaidi and Biden, as well as communications between the department and nongovernmental organizations, according to a letter they sent to Sec. Jennifer Granholm Monday.
“The Biden administration appears to be weaponizing DOE’s public interest analysis and the administrative state to extend approvals of new LNG export projects at the behest of left-wing environmental groups,” said the letter signed by Supervisory Board Chairman James Comer, R -Ky. and representatives. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, and Clay Higgins, R-La.
“The timing of the decision, in an election year, increases the likelihood that political motivations led to the action.”
Hosue Republicans sent a letter to Sec. Jennifer Granholm requests communications and documents between the DOE and top White House advisers
John Podesta is a senior adviser to President Biden and has been involved in crafting the administration’s climate policy
“The Committee is seeking information and a staff-level briefing to understand DOE’s role in implementing the LNG export pause, whether there were political factors that led to this decision, and how DOE interacts with other Federal agencies that Regulate LNG,” the letter continued. .
The demand for communications between the DOE and Biden’s top climate officials indicates that Republicans believe they could have had a hand in shaping the LNG pause.
Podesta serves as a senior advisor to the president for clean energy innovation and implementation, while Zaidi serves as national climate advisor.
An earlier investigation into the pause was launched in February by the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee. That committee is seeking documents from the DOE on why the permit moratorium and environmental review were necessary.
According to the White House, the move to halt new LNG export permits was made to give the administration time to study how the shipments affect climate change, national security and the economy.
The decision was made amid increasing pressure from environmental groups who have expressed concerns about investments in new infrastructure that supports oil and gas production.
The government has said the study is also needed to measure methane emissions caused by the LNG industry, and since the US is the largest exporter globally, the country has a duty to investigate the environmental impacts of the industry.
Still, Republicans are not convinced.
“I stand unwaveringly against the Biden administration’s targeted, Green New Deal agenda-driven suppression of the US energy industry,” Higgins told DailyMail.com in a statement.
“If their concerns are about emissions, stopping the export of clean-burning American LNG to our allies in Europe and Asia will hurt global emissions. That is a fact,” Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, said Tuesday on CNBC.
“This is a blow to the far left during an election season. That’s the only reason.’
The pause on LNG exports has been rejected by Republicans and U.S. energy advocates
Republicans have said Biden’s pause is dangerous to national security and the economy because the U.S. is the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas.
The letter comes during “Energy Week,” which House Republican Majority Leader Steve Scalise described as a time for the Republican Party to promote U.S. energy legislation.
And the ban could last until after the November election.
White House energy adviser Amos Hochstein said in February that the ban could last 10 to 14 months.
Granholm has declined to say how long the ban will last, but admitted Monday that the pause will end by this time next year.
“By the time we meet here in this place next year, it will be a long time in the rearview mirror,” she said.