Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted took aim at Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, saying her effort to shutdown an oil pipeline between Michigan and Canada is “unreasonable” as gas prices continue to soar across the country.
From Fox News:
“With what’s going on with Russia and Ukraine, I think the world is learning right now that we can’t be dependent on other nations for the supply of our oil and gas who are adversarial to us,” Husted told Fox News Digital in an interview. “We can work with nations who are allies — in this case, with Canada and Line 5 — but Michigan is being unreasonable and irresponsible with their actions.”
Michigan’s Democratic governor has long sought to shutdown Enbridge Energy’s Line 5 pipeline, arguing the aging line poses a “catastrophic” risk of spilling into the Great Lakes. But that effort has come under renewed criticism as gas prices rise and many look for ways the U.S. can decrease its reliance on foreign sources of energy.
Husted, a Republican, believes the ongoing situation in Ukraine should be a clear signal to Whitmer that it is time to end her effort to block the pipeline, arguing her actions threaten to damage his state’s economy and cause more suffering at the pump for residents.
But high gas prices, soaring inflation, and the war in Ukraine have so far not slowed Whitmer’s fight against the pipeline, with the governor’s office arguing that the crisis should be a sign that its time to move to greener sources of energy:
“The energy supply constraints resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the increased prices created by big oil companies has highlighted how important it is to ensure that Michigan is not overreliant on one source and has energy independence to protect Michiganders’ pocketbooks and our state’s economic security,” Bobby Leddy, Whitmer’s press secretary, told Fox News Digital in a statement.
“That’s why we are moving forward to diversify our state’s energy options, which will significantly expand jobs and economic investment in our state.”
Whitmer’s crusade against the pipeline could be bad news for drivers throughout the Midwest, with one recent study showing that a shutdown of Line 5 could cause prices in the region to rise between 9.47% to 11.66%. The Consumer Energy Alliance study estimates that this would result in drivers in the region paying an additional $4.7 billion per year for gasoline and diesel fuel.
“Let’s be reasonable,” Husted said. “Let’s not eliminate an essential supply line for the fuel that powers our states [and] our economy. Gas prices are high enough. We don’t need to artificially restrict supply.”
