Barr says Biden ‘weakened’ US economy by ‘stopping’ energy production before Russia’s war on Ukraine

Former Attorney General Bill Barr said President Biden has “weakened” the United States and its economy by “stopping” U.S. energy production, adding that Biden had done so long before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Barr, in an interview with Fox News Digital Thursday about his new book, “One Damn Thing After Another,” reacted to Biden’s announcement this week to ban all imports of Russian oil, gas and energy to the United States amid Russian President Vladimir Putin’s two-week long invasion of Ukraine.

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“Biden has weakened the United States dramatically and the power of our economy by curtailing our energy independence — and that is even apart from Ukraine,” Barr said. Barr added that Biden’s “decision to pull back on American energy was a disaster — is a disaster — for the United States.”

“Ukraine certainly puts a greater emphasis on the need for us to stop all this nonsense about stopping our own energy production,” Barr said.

In announcing the ban on Russian oil imports, Biden warned that it would cost American families at the pump.

Americans are experiencing the highest gas prices since the 2008 financial crisis, with the national average price reaching $4 per gallon, the highest average to date, according to AAA.

Russian oil exports account for about one-third of Europe’s oil imports, but Russian exports are just under 10% of U.S. overall imports.

Amid surging gas prices, Biden has been facing criticism from Republicans, who have urged him to lift his executive orders that canceled the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada and froze new oil and gas leases on federal lands.