Scalise declares Biden LNG export ban a 'gift to Vladimir Putin'

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise on Wednesday excoriated the Biden administration's decision to pause exports on liquified natural gas (LNG), contending that such a move undermined American energy independence and bolstered adversarial nations like Russia.

Biden in January announced a pause on the approval of LNG exports, citing "historic hurricanes and floods wiping out homes, businesses and houses of worship" and the "urgency of the climate crisis." Republicans have largely condemned the move.

"And so what Joe Biden did, he came in, he reversed those Trump policies that were successful, and he's made our country dependent on those foreign countries again," Scalise said during an appearance on Fox Business's "Kudlow." "And by the way, the latest effort as you alluded to on LNG exports, where Biden basically put a pause on LNG exports – that's a gift to Vladimir Putin from Joe Biden. Why would he want to do that? But it hurts America, it raises costs for families."

He asserted that former President Donald Trump's policies had aimed for energy independence and that excess American production at the time was proving a benefit to U.S. allies and undercutting Russian influence.

"I got to work with him on a lot of the things that we did to become energy independent and energy dominant. We were not only supplying all of our energy needs, we were helping our friends around the world. And by the way, that undermines countries like Russia, it undermines Putin," he said.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.