With Biden admin’s mixed messages on mask mandates and fuel pipeline, he seems to be struggling to get his team on the same page between prioritizing energy pipelines and the abrupt move to get rid of mask mandates amid the Coronavirus pandemic.
As America worries about the recent cyber attack of the Colonial Pipeline, causing gas prices to skyrocket and placing the national security at risk, the Biden administration proceeds to characterize the concerning event as a nonissue while pushing the vitality of pipelines for fuel transportation.
Biden admin's mixed messages on fuel pipelines are as muddled as mask mandates
Team Biden seems to be struggling to get on same page https://t.co/YjHAfRN4gO
— Patti Cakes 🍰 (@PattiCakesKiss) May 18, 2021
On the other hand, Biden’s harsh cancellation of the Keystone XL Pipeline was completely supported by his inner circule. Included among them is Department of Energey (DOE) Secretary Jennifer Granholm, who defended Biden’s decision during her confirmation hearing last January 27.
However, last week, Granholm preached during a news conference that pipelines are “the best way” to transport energy, contradicting her previous stance. In addition to this, the DOE Secretary also advocated back in 2016 to do “everything possible to keep fossil-fuel energy in the ground,” according to the Duluth News Tribune.
On Tuesday, Granholm made a statement saying, “This particular area of the country there – this is why we have doubled down on ensuring that there’s an ability to truck oil in – gas in.” She continued, “But it’s – the pipe is the best way to go.”
Meanwhile, during an interview with The Washington Post, transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg agreed with Granholm.
When Buttigieg was asked if he believed the Biden administration needed to revisit the Keystone Pipeline after the Colonial Pipeline hack, he tried to simply his reponse. He said, “It’s really apples and oranges when we talk about the consequences of a cyberattack on one pipeline versus the idea of introducing another one, which the president kept his promise that he didn’t think that was a good policy and he acted to keep his promise when he took office.”
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who was sued by 21 states for his decision to shut down the Keystone Pipleline, now repeatedly referred to the Colonial Pipeline as a “critical infrastructure.”
The Biden’s administratio’s confused pipeline hypocrisy follows a similar change of heart with the new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with regard to the mask mandate.
The new guidance stands in stark contrast with the previous rules as it now allows fully vaccinated people to get rid of their mask in most public settings.
Previously, the President pushed mask-wearing even for vaccinated people, as first lady Jill Biden encouraged masking “even while walking your dog” in a video message.
After CDC Director Rochelle Walensky’s announcement of the abrupt reversal, President Biden publicly tossed his mask and took to Twitter to harshly express that Americans can either get the vaccine or continue masking.
The rule is now simple: get vaccinated or wear a mask until you do.
The choice is yours.
— President Biden (@POTUS) May 13, 2021
Some lawmakers implied the the timing between the Colonial security breach and freedom from face coverings was too perfect.
On Friday, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told Hannity that the two might be in direct correlation to save face.
“You know the only reason why they changed not wearing the mask?” he said. “Gasoline went to $7 and there were gasoline lines and [Biden] wanted to change the news.”
