As President Joe Biden weighs releasing a record amount of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to bring down soaring gas prices, former President Donald Trump predicts that Biden will soon empty it.
Citing someone familiar with the matter, CNN reports that the Biden administration is considering a plan to release approximately 1 million barrels per day from the reserve in the coming months.
A decision could come as early as Thursday, when Biden is scheduled to speak about gas prices from the White House.
"So after 50 years of being virtually empty, I built up our oil reserves during my administration, and low energy prices, to 100% full," Trump said in a statement Thursday. "It's called the Strategic National Reserves, and it hasn't been full for many decades. In fact, it's been mostly empty."
Earlier this month, Biden announced a release of oil from the reserve, coordinating the move with other nations. According to CNN, he also released around 60 million barrels in November, which he said then was the largest release from the reserve in U.S. history.
"It's supposed to only be used for large-scale emergency or conflict," Trump said. "Now I see where Biden has just announced he's going to take what we so carefully and magically built, and what will be a futile attempt to reduce oil and gasoline prices."
Drawing from the cache of 600 million barrels of crude oil stored underground in Louisiana and Texas salt caverns doesn't usually have a lasting effect on gas prices because of how much oil is released at a time. According to CNN, tapping the reserve would largely serve as a sign that Biden is working to address the problem.
"They will soon bring it down to empty again," Trump predicted. "It just never ends!"
In the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. price of gasoline skyrocketed, hitting an average record high of $4.33 for a gallon of regular earlier in March.
Biden has tried to blame drivers' pain at the pump on Russia's president, saying, "Make no mistake: The current spike in gas prices is largely the fault of Vladimir Putin."
Looking to turn people's frustrations with the higher gasoline prices into votes for the GOP, the Republican National Committee began registering voters at their local gas pumps in Arizona last week.
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