Burgum blames Dems for high gas prices, not Strait of Hormuz turmoil

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum shifted blame around rising gas prices amid the Iran war to Democratic state officials on Friday.

“The price of gasoline varies across our whole country largely right now by state policy and state taxes, not by the underlying fundamentals,” Burgum told Fox News’s Aishah Hasnie.

Burgum pointed to several states’ push to rely on more renewable sources of energy. He specifically pointed to California, saying its position as the state with the highest U.S. gas averages is “self-inflicted.”

“They are going to have high prices,” Burgum said. “You can thank [California Gov.] Gavin Newsom for that and the state legislature for the policies they put in. That has nothing to do with the Strait of Hormuz.”

A number of factors contribute to California’s hefty fuel costs, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The state has the highest gasoline taxes in the nation, more stringent clean energy requirements and has limited refineries.

Gas prices have skyrocketed since the U.S. and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran on Feb. 28, and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz during this conflict has placed an immense strain on global energy supplies.

On Saturday afternoon, the gas prices were up to a national average of just over $4 a gallon, over a 30 percent increase from around $3 a gallon a year ago, according to AAA.

In California, gas prices were up to an average of $5.75 in the state on Saturday, compared to $4.65 a year ago.

Oil prices dropped on Thursday, following President Trump’s announcement that a deal with Iran was imminent.

The Trump administration has repeatedly sought to downplay rising consumer concerns about the economic impact of the war.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright assured Americans on Tuesday at an Atlantic Council event that traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was “rising very meaningfully.” On Wednesday, Trump said that the U.S. military had secretly moved 100 million barrels of crude oil through the key waterway.

“This wildly successful effort is because the UNITED STATES of AMERICA CONTROLS the Strait of Hormuz — NOT Iran,” the president wrote in a Truth Social post. “Their military is defeated, and their economy is lost. It’s over for Iran.”

The president announced on Saturday afternoon that the U.S. and Iran were nearing the finalization of a framework for a peace deal to end this conflict. If signed as planned on Sunday, the president said the strait would be reopened “immediately.”

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