Biden news today: President opens oil reserve to tackle gas prices, says Putin
‘You’ve got to be silly’: Biden hits back at Ukraine questions from Fox News reporter
President Joe Biden has ordered the release of up 1 million barrels of oil per day from the strategic petroleum reserve for the next six months in a bid to control prices that have spiked since the US and its allies imposed strict sanctions on Russia.
The announcement comes after both the White House and the Pentagon said that they believe Vladimir Putin is being misinformed about progress in the war by his senior advisers and warned that Russian troops being pulled back from areas near Kyiv may just be being repositioned for further fighting.
Meanwhile, the president is marking the Transgender Day of Visibility, which declared in order to “celebrate the activism and determination that have fueled the fight for transgender equality” and “acknowledge the adversity and discrimination that the transgender community continues to face across our Nation and around the world” – this as various Republican-led states pass laws directly targeting non-gender-conforming people, including children.
On Wednesday, Mr Biden also gave a speech on the state of the coronavirus pandemic, announcing the launch of a central website for resources, before receiving his second booster shot of the Pfizer vaccine. The CIA director is the latest person in the administration to test positive for the virus and he met with the president a day ago – though they were distanced and masked.
The next Jen Psaki?
Kate Bedingfield’s debut in the White House press briefing room this week came under unlikely circumstances — the benching of two of her colleagues due to Covid-19 — but could lead to greater visibility for Joe Biden’s longtime comms director.
“I know I am not the redhead you’re accustomed to seeing at this podium, but I hope you will hang with me nonetheless,” Ms Bedingfield, 40, joked to reporters at her first briefing on Tuesday.
John Bowden reports from Washington, DC.
Oliver O’Connell31 March 2022 20:00
Biden calls for ‘use it or lose it’ policy for oil leases on federal land: ‘I say, enough’
President Joe Biden on Thursday slammed oil companies for refusing to increase production to make up shortfalls caused by the removal of Russian oil from US markets.
Calling the crisis stemming from Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine “a moment of crisis and peril for the world and pain at the pump for American families,” Mr Biden said the spike in oil and gas prices brought on by the US ban on Russian oil could be “a moment of patriotism” for domestic oil producers.
Andrew Feinberg has the latest for The Independent from Washington DC.
Oliver O’Connell31 March 2022 19:45
FBI: Hackers targeted US election officials with phishing email campaign
Hackers likely targeted US election officials with an invoice-themed phishing email campaign in an attempt to gain access to their systems, according to the FBI.
An advisory issued by the bureau this week warns election administrators and state and local government officials about a malicious email scheme that federal law enforcement believes is part of…
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