In 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which disrupted global oil supplies and drove US gasoline prices to record highs above $5 per gallon in June, the Biden administration authorized unprecedented releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to ease fuel costs as the 2022 Midterm elections loomed (and Democrat approval ratings slid).
The historic drawdown announced in March was the largest SPR release in history, and was pitched as ‘bridging supply shortfalls while global production ramped up’…
While Biden, Schumer and their pals all claimed to understand the global oil markets – and the logic of why this release would work… it failed to prevent sustained high prices. As the chart below shows, even as the SPR was drained dramatically, prices remained elevated, overshadowed by broader market forces like OPEC decisions, refining constraints, and geopolitical risks (as we warned at the time numerous times)…
Prices remained elevated compared to pre-invasion levels for much of the year, and the releases drained the SPR to its lowest level since the early 1980s (losing over 40% of its volume), raising concerns about energy security for future crises.
So, with pump prices once again rising (this time due to oil market disruptions due to President Trump’s attack on Iran and the retaliatory response)…
…having tried-and-failed before, Chuck Schumer is out today with a sternly-worded post on X “demanding” President Trump release oil from the SPR (which he has been refilling since regaining office)…
Due to Donald Trump’s reckless war of choice, gas prices have surged to their highest levels in years.
His response? “If they rise, they rise.” He couldn’t care less.
Today, I demanded Trump release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve IMMEDIATELY to bring relief to… pic.twitter.com/5pITsQSnOk
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) March 8, 2026
Is Schumer’s memory failing him (again, like on Social Security fraud, Illegal Immigration, or Voting Reform) or is this just another weak-sauce politically-motivated ‘tweet’ to stir up further division as the war continues?
Indeed, while there are many reasons to push back on Trump’s war and its repercussions, perhaps the Dem leader should remember Santanya’s remarks: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
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