Pelosi favors banning oil imports from Russia

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that she supports banning oil imports from Russia into the U.S.

"I'm all for that – ban it," Pelosi said at a Capitol Hill news conference. "Ban the oil coming from Russia."

Biden announced during his State of the Union address that additional barrels of oil would be released from the United States' Strategic Petroleum Reserve in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He didn't mention banning oil imports from Russia.

Capitol Hill Republicans have been calling for a ban on Russian oil, or at least sanctioning it, and in recent days have received bipartisan support for the idea.  

A ban or heavy sanctions will, however, likely result in higher gas prices in the U.S. Republicans and Democrats like West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin are advocating for the Biden Administration to increase domestic oil production.

Pelosi, a California Democrat, said she remains against drilling for oil on U.S. public lands.

"I'm not for drilling on public lands," she said.