Fox News’ “Fox and Friends” called out President Joe Biden on Wednesday for shuttering the Keystone XL pipeline as much of the eastern U.S. faces gas shortages.
Colonial Pipeline, which transports 45% of the oil used in the eastern U.S., was targeted by a ransomware attack last Friday carried out by hacking group “DarkSide.” Since then, about 2.5 million barrels of oil supply has been lost as nationwide demand spiked more than 20% and drivers in multiple East Coast states reported gas shortages and gas station shutdowns.
“Instead of using one pipe, they’re using 10,000 trucks to haul the fuel to make up for the shutdown,” said “Fox and Friends” co-host Steve Doocy.
“Environmentalists who supported Joe Biden can not like the fact that instead of using one pipeline, they are using 10,000 trucks. Maybe we need more pipelines rather than fewer.”
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Energy Sec. Granholm told reporters during a White House press briefing on Tuesday that using trucks was the only available option, as the Biden administration was still looking into whether rail cars or deep-water ports could be used to transport fuel during the shortage. Granholm added that pipelines were the best method of transporting fuel. (RELATED: Biden White House Is ‘Monitoring’ Fuel Shortages From Colonial Pipeline Cyber Attack)
“This is why we have doubled down on ensuring that there’s an ability to truck gas in,” she said. “But the pipe is the best way to go. And so that’s why, hopefully, [Colonial] will in fact be able to restore operations by the end of the week as they have said.”
“Pipe is the best way to go?” said “Fox and Friends” co-host Ainsley Earhardt, quoting Granholm. “So why did they close Keystone?”
“Yea, that wasn’t the best way, until they had a problem,” Doocy added.
Biden signed an executive order on his first day in office cancelling a cross-border permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, a move that effectively ended the much-debated $8 billion pipeline after years of legal limbo.
TC Energy, the company behind the project, announced they would eliminate more than 1,000 construction jobs alone in the weeks after the executive order was signed, Reuters reported.