Democrat pushes for more US oil drilling in Fox interview

Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) on Sunday pushed for more oil drilling in the U.S., saying the nation needs to be “energy independent” as gas prices rise.

“Let’s go ahead and allow that opportunity to do domestic drilling so we can have jobs here, and certainly make sure we don’t depend on another country when it comes to energy,” Cuellar said on “Fox News Sunday.”

Cuellar, a moderate Democrat facing a May 24 runoff primary challenge in his Texas district, also said President Biden’s administration is “not helping Democrats.”

“We got to make sure we are all working together, and right now some of the actions by the administration is not helping Democrats, certainly in South Texas when it comes to oil and gas,” Cuellar said.

Gas prices have soared to near-record highs this year amid Russia’s war in Ukraine and high inflation.

In response, the Biden administration announced last week it would resume oil and gas lease sales on public lands.

More domestic oil drilling is expected to help with production, but Republicans have knocked the Biden administration for raising royalty rates for the leases and cutting the acres offered for drilling.