Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich pressed White Home Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre to explain why President Joe Biden time and again warned oil and gasoline companies not to use Hurricane Ian as an “excuse” to jack up costs.

As Ian barreled in opposition to and in the course of the southeast this week, Biden warned oil and gas firms a few occasions that what he called a “small, transient storm influence on oil production” is “no excuse for price will increase on the pump.”

Biden delivered that “If the gas firms attempt to use this storm to raise prices at the pump, I’ll ask officers to look into whether or not worth gouging is occurring.”

At Friday’s press briefing, Heinrich requested Jean-Pierre to sq. these warnings with the fact that NSC spokesman John Kirby says there’s been no evidence of gouging thus far, and puzzled if Biden’s warnings might “fray” members of the family with these corporations:

MS. HEINRICH: Thanks, Karine. A couple occasions this week, the President came after oil and gasoline corporations. He threatened once more to research instances of price gouging. But John Kirby said the previous day that there — he hadn’t considered any proof of that happening. And I remember the President first put out this — this call for the FTC to investigate that you can imagine value gouging in November of ultimate 12 months.

So my query to you is: Why does he preserve throwing that in the market? And does it have anything else to do with the likelihood that OPEC will announce a manufacturing cut next week, and we might begin to see costs come up? Is he trying to deflect faraway from —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, as you recognize, we’re not going to talk to OPEC, OPEC+. We are evidently now not — not a partner or part of OPEC+. So we — they’re an independent entity, and we enable them to make their — make their news and their announcements on their very own.

What we — what we’re announcing is: We’re simply with the intention that while we’re — whereas people are dealing — whereas we’re all coping with a storm, that gas and oil firms don’t take advantage of it. It’s simply — it’s just a bit little bit of a, “Hey, we want to make certain on this time, when persons are losing their homes, when persons are dealing with a very difficult time, that we shouldn’t make the most of it.” That’s it. It is only coming from the President. And we feel that coming from the President is an impressive voice.

And so, seem, we don’t — we know that disruptions from hurricanes can pose problem to markets, but the newest projections express that main refineries should no longer be impacted with the aid of Hurricane Ian. And so — so we’re simply making it very clear to the oil firms. The President is making it very clear to the oil companies.

So there’s nothing extra to it than simply — being simply vigilant about that.

MS. HEINRICH: Does it at all run the chance of additional fraying the connection between the administration and these — there’s been, you know, clearly, some house between, you realize, their place — industry heads’ place and the White Home with regards to attitudes towards fossil fuels and, , sort of casting of blame backward and forward. They — the companies will say, “Well, the Biden administration is hostile, and that’s why, you understand, we are able to’t ramp up production.” So does this kind of rhetoric —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah, I imply, I —

MS. HEINRICH: — make it worse?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: — I don’t assume so.

As you know, the oil firms are currently assembly with — with officials — White House officers and the Division of Energy.

And so, look, I feel the President thinks that he’s standing up for the American people and to ensure that oil firms are passing on the financial savings that they’re attending to shoppers. And we have now mentioned that time and time again. And this is something that the President thinks it’s important to use his platform to do so.

Watch above by the use of C-Span.

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