Pompeo tries to assure 'tough' U.S. oil producers, amid strained U.S.-Saudi ties

<p>Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is assuring U.S. oil producers that the Trump administration is focused on trying to create a more stable energy market, amid collapsing global oil prices.</p><p>He called the U.S. industry producers "tough," and reminding them that they're the key to America's future oil independence.</p><p>"They are tough, they're strong," he told David Brody, host of the Pod's Honest Truth.</p><p> URL to Embed</p><p> "President Trump's committed to making sure that they have everything they need to make sure that this industry comes out on the other side of this virus in a way that allows them to continue to do the important function of providing more independence for America on foreign energy sources.”</p><p>The Trump administration has forged strong ties with Saudi Arabia, a regional ally also opposed to Iran's growing military strength. But recently those ties have been strained as the Saudis and the Russians, two of the three largest global oil producers, have pumped oil into the market sparking a price war after failing reach an agreement on production cuts in early March.</p><p>Pompeo said that Trump spoke with Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and that country's de facto ruler, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other world leaders to help strike a deal.</p><p>"He was centrally involved in talking to the king and the Crown Prince in Saudi Arabia and with President Putin, and ultimately with the Mexican government as well. I was working on it too. The President got them to a place where they reduced their output."</p><p>That's not enough for some, especially lawmakers from oil producing states who say Saudi's high level of oil output pushes prices down and hurts American producers.</p><p>Some senators are pushing Congress for $3 billion to fulfill President Trump’s order to buy low-priced oil to restock the nation’s emergency Strategic Petroleum Reserve.</p><p>"What President Trump's been focused on is two things: getting stability back in the marketplace," he said. "The second thing we've got to do is we've got to get the American economy back open. We've got to get demand back."</p><p>Related stories:</p><p>Pompeo blasts 'wildly soft' Obama-Biden coddling of Beijing: 'Allowed China to walk all over us'</p><p>Global oil glut: Who are the winners and losers</p><p>Cuomo calls McConnell suggestion that states declare bankruptcy 'dumb'</p><p> URL to Embed</p>