Laid-off pipeline worker says US is in 'deep trouble' under Biden policy
Neal Crabtree, who was laid off from his job working on the Keystone XL pipeline, says the workforce could have the pipeline functioning within eight months if the Biden administration would allow construction to continue
Neal Crabtree was laid off from his position working on the Keystone XL pipeline. He’s now warning that the U.S. is in for "deep trouble" if President Biden’s energy policies continue to inhibit pipeline construction.
President Biden’s move to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline on his first day in office has come under increasing scrutiny amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has sent gas prices soaring across the country.
Jen Psaki doubled down Monday, suggesting that the pipeline wouldn’t have affected the current surge in prices.
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Crabtree, however, said the liberal policies are causing the problem.
"As long as Biden is using this policy of any-way-but-an-American-way, we’re in for some deep trouble," he said.
On "Fox & Friends First" Tuesday, Crabtree said that returning to domestic energy production would have an immediate impact on the record-high gas prices.
"The thing about the Keystone is the workforce is ready to go. We can build this thing," he told host Carley Shimkus.
"We can have this thing up and going in about eight months."
Republican lawmakers have repeatedly called for a return to the Trump-era policies that allowed the U.S. to become energy independent as recently as 2019.
Pipes for the Keystone XL pipeline stacked in a yard near Oyen, Alberta, Canada, on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021. U.S. President Joe Biden revoked the permit for TC Energy Corp.'s Keystone XL energy pipeline via executive order hours after his inauguration. Photographer: Jason Franson/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Senator Josh Hawley called for a "full throttle" return to domestic energy production.
"While Biden ramped down America’s energy production, destroying blue-collar jobs and livelihoods along the way, Putin ramped up," Hawley wrote in a Fox News op-ed.
Crabtree believes it would be ‘no problem’ to make up the average 670,000 barrels of imported Russian oil each day if President Biden were to allow construction to resume.
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"And it’s not just the Keystone pipeline. There’s so many other pipelines out there and things going on behind the scenes," he said.
"But oh yeah, we can have this pipeline running in no time. We’re that good."