Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) criticized President Donald Trump and Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Monday, accusing them of being aware of the widespread impact of the war with Iran but doing little to shield ordinary Americans from the disruptions.
Americans Need ‘Answers’ From Trump
In a post on X, Newsom slammed the ongoing tensions with Iran. “Everyone knew Trump’s Iran war would disrupt the Strait of Hormuz and skyrocket costs,” he said, adding that Wright did “nothing” to protect the U.S. from the disruptions.
“Americans are OWED answers about what the Trump Admin knew and why they failed to shield us from these predictable consequences,” he said in the post.
The White House did not immediately respond to Benzinga‘s request for comment.
Wright had earlier criticized Newsom as energy prices continue to rise. He said that the previous President Joe Biden administration, as well as Newsom’s administration in California, had closed down oil refineries, saying that refining capacity was a big problem in the U.S.
ExxonMobil Joliet Refinery Goes Offline
Oil giant ExxonMobil Holdings Corp‘s (NYSE:XOM) refinery in Joliet, Illinois, was shut down, with GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan sharing purported visuals of the facility on the social media platform X, saying that the facility had suffered a “total power outage.”
The analyst added that the facility had a capacity of 275,000 barrels per day. De Haan also shared an update about the facility, saying that operations had been restored, but it would “take several days to fully resume.”
ExxonMobil did not immediately respond to Benzinga‘s request for comment.
According to data shared by the American Automobile Association on Monday, the national average price of gas was at $4.3163/gallon, while the national average diesel price was $6.2301/gallon.
Meanwhile, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures ending in October grew 1.60% to $103.01 at the time of writing this article. Brent crude futures ending in November also grew 1.42% to $107.18 at press time.
Iran’s Security Chief Slams Trump
Meanwhile, Iran’s Security Chief Mohsen Rezaee slammed Trump after the latter, in a post on the social media platform Truth Social on Monday, said that Iran wanted to make a deal “quickly and badly,” adding that the U.S. was open to a “concept” of negotiations.
“Don’t get distracted by the U.S. president’s mixed signals—from ‘no negotiations’ to ‘we’re ready to talk,’” Rezaee said in a post on X, adding that the stakes around the Strait of Hormuz and oil had changed. “Damage control won’t stop what’s coming,” he said, adding that there would be “no talks until Iran’s conditions are met.”
Rezaee had earlier said that Iran would not allow the movement of oil through the Strait of Hormuz after the White House announced new economic restrictions on Iran. Tehran had demanded the U.S. return to the terms agreed upon in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by both countries in June this year.
Meanwhile, the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen struck the crucial East-West pipeline in Saudi Arabia, leading to more disruptions in the global oil supply chain.
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