Sen. Eric Schmitt Remembers 2021 About Gas Prices

"If you think Democrats really care about loweing gas prices remember that on the First Day of the Biden Admin they cancelled the Keystone XL pipeline and halted all new oil and gas leases," Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Missouri) tweets.

If you think Democrats really care about lowering gas prices remember that on the First Day of the Biden Admin they cancelled the Keystone XL pipeline and halted all new oil and gas leases.

— Eric Schmitt (@Eric_Schmitt) October 25, 2026

The care police can be a hard one, at times. Congress would care, for certain, about the general welfare of its citizens, yet it would also fulfill its lawfully prescribed power to lay and collect taxes on incomes. So every action or inaction does not automatically signal a level of care. Sometimes there are competing interests, with a little care at least going to all lobbies. Democrats may not have a willingness to move what priorities they have out of the way in order to enjoy a residual benefit, such as lowered gas prices. It may not be that they do not care, just that they do not care about gas prices coming down more than something else. Though they may not care at all. Perhaps the objections from Democrats are environmental concerns, and if allayed, they would have a willingness to do what is needed to lower them. Perhaps the objections are deeply held. It would be difficult to imagine a political party without solid foundational reason not grabbing at something that would make life easier for voters and constituents.

Policies have consequences and reveal priorities. Cancelling available oil production would not be a way to lower gas prices. More supply and availability are going to equal lower prices. It is simple economics. There can be an argument about concerns and competing interests, but do not mistake the reality that certain initiatives would work toward bringing them lower.

January of 2021 seems like a long time ago. It may have passed as a hard time, between then and now, for many. Some of the things that we are dealing with can be attributed to the policies of former President Joe Biden and his administration, along with Democrats in Congress, who were the majority party for much of his presidency. He and they must be held to account even now for these things.