Politics

Republicans cautious on energy prices despite ceasefire

Published

2 months ago

April 9, 2026

In the day following President Donald Trump’s announcement of a two-week ceasefire with Iran, dozens of congressional Republicans released statements of support for the administration’s peace negotiations.

But the lawmakers largely steered clear of one major topic: oil.

Crude prices tumbled following Trump’s Tuesday night announcement that the Strait of Hormuz would reopen as part of the ceasefire agreement. It’s what many Republicans were hoping for heading into the midterm elections.

But despite the ceasefire, it’s unclear when international oil shipments will return to normal through the Strait of Hormuz, and there’s alarm about Iran gaining more power over a waterway that carries roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil traffic.

“This is an important step toward ending the conflict, but we need to remain vigilant,” said Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.), a member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. “We must maintain pressure on Iran to follow through on its commitment to re-open the Strait of Hormuz and agree to a deal that achieves our objectives.”

Indeed, Iran state media reported Wednesday that the country would move to close the strait again if Israel kept bombing targets in Lebanon. The White House said Lebanon was not part of the ceasefire and downplayed the closure threat.

Still, the president has appeared open to Iran keeping some influence over the strait and charging ships for crossing. That’s something causing alarm with industry leaders.

“The supposed negotiating document, in my view, has some troubling aspects, but time will tell. I look forward to the architects of this proposal, the Vice President and others, coming forward to Congress and explaining how a negotiated deal meets our national security objectives in Iran,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), long an Iran hawk, wrote on X about initial reports on the ceasefire deal.

Other Republican were less specific in their response. Energy and Natural Resources Chair Mike Lee (R-Utah) wrote on social media that the ceasefire was “excellent news.” But he did not weigh in on the oil price declines Wednesday or lingering concerns about energy markets, and his office did not respond to request for comment.

On the House side, Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) similarly kept his ceasefire comments focused on military objectives, rather than the energy ramifications of the conflict.

“I pray that the end of hostilities will be lasting, that the Iranian regime permanently ends their nuclear ambitions, and stops their spread of terror once and for all,” Guthrie wrote.

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), another outspoken Republican on energy issues, took a tone of caution while celebrating the ceasefire agreement. “We have to keep our eyes wide open obviously, it’s not like the Iranian regime is good for keeping its word, but in my mind, this is a pretty good breakthrough,” he said in a statement.

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) was one of the only GOP lawmakers to comment about energy and Iran on Wednesday. But rather than calling attention to plummeting oil prices, he instead made an argument for American energy independence.

The president and his allies have been touting their support for more U.S. fossil fuel production as an insurance policy against global disruptions, even though average gasoline prices spiked from $3.25 a year ago to more than $4.

“If the past two months have taught us anything, it’s that we can’t put a price tag on American energy independence and dominance,” Biggs wrote on social media.

Democrats keep up attacks

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the Middle East ceasefire would do little to help consumers.

The ceasefire announcement and drop in oil prices didn’t blunt the Democrats’ campaign that the administration’s war — and other policies — are hurting American consumers.

Minority Leader Chuck Schumer highlighted the continued volatility in the Strait of Hormuz during a press conference Wednesday and said he didn’t expect prices at the pump to ease anytime soon.

“At home here, American families have paid the price for this war. Gas prices have skyrocketed in just a matter of days. They’re not going to change until August. And in general, the world oil markets will be unsettled for years,” Schumer said.

House Energy and Commerce ranking member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) said, “Even though there’s now a ceasefire, the oil supply chain has unfortunately been disrupted — and may be for a long time.”

Iran’s control over Strait of Hormuz traffic — something it didn’t have before — is also giving Democrats ammunition against the president’s decision to join Israel in attacking Iran.

“A waterway that was free to the world is now a toll booth that Iran controls,” wrote Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.) on social media. “Every barrel of oil that gets taxed on the way through raises prices for American families”

Andres Picon contributed to this report.

Politics

The US-Australia face-off that isn’t happening

Published

12 minutes ago

June 19, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Who’s not here at Seattle’s Lumen Field for the Pacific Rim face-off between the United States and Australia?

If they’re following the match, the two countries’ elected heads — President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese — are doing so from afar.

Politics

The soccer boss in Mark Carney’s ear

Published

42 minutes ago

June 19, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

VANCOUVER — Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber joined Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday to watch Canada’s thrashing of Qatar. Garber probably did not want Carney to enjoy the stadium experience too much.

BC Place is Major League Soccer’s most troublesome facility. The arena is old, was not designed with soccer in mind, and is owned by a government agency — the BC Pavilion Corporation, which also controls the Vancouver Convention Center — that forces the Vancouver Whitecaps to fight for dates on the calendar against concerts and other events.

“We want to be the ones that control our destiny, like every sports team does,” Garber told reporters Friday in Seattle.

The Whitecaps are now up for sale, and Garber is actively pushing British Columbia’s political establishment — including Premier David Eby and Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim — to find a solution can keep the team from decamping to Las Vegas. While the government has been willing to renegotiate its financial relationship with the team, a proposed new stadium would take “four-plus years” in construction, which Garber said was untenable.

“It unimaginable how long we’re going to be out of the stadium,” he told reporters Friday in Seattle. “They are very relevant club that doesn’t have a good business model, and you can’t be sustainable.”

Garber recounted he met with Eby while in Vancouver, and sat with Carney and Victor Montagliani — the head of regional soccer confederation CONCACAF and a close ally of the prime minister — during the match itself. Garber said he has placed a league official in Vancouver full-time to manage the negotiations with local officials over the Whitecaps’s future.

“We want to be the ones that control our destiny, like every sports team does,” said Garber. “It’s easier for business people to make decisions, a little harder for politicians.”

Politics

The accidental American

Published

1 hour ago

June 19, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

In 2001, airline employees stopped a seven-months pregnant Florence Balogun from traveling home to London, deeming her too pregnant to fly. She stayed in New York, where she was visiting, eventually giving birth to a son, Folarin, before returning to London.

Twenty-five years later, Folarin Balogun has attracted global notice as a rising soccer star. Despite training in Arsenal’s youth academy and spending much of his career playing for England’s youth teams, Balogun — legally an American citizen, thanks to his Brooklyn birth — has emerged as a key contributor to the U.S. team’s attack at this year’s World Cup. The striker scored two goals in America’s opener against Paraguay last Friday, hoisting his team to a record-breaking 4-1 victory, the most goals the U.S. men’s team has ever scored in a World Cup game.

While Balogun’s performance has fueled fresh hopes about America’s World Cup prospects, he’s also found himself in the middle of America’s ongoing birthright citizenship debate.

On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order overturning the country’s long-standing birthright citizenship practice. The American Civil Liberties Union then sued to block the move, taking their legal battle to the Supreme Court. The court is expected to issue a final ruling soon — though it seems“broadly skeptical” of Trump’s effort.

“The executive order itself doesn’t claim to strip away [Balogun’s] citizenship or or the citizenship of other people born before [Feb. 19, 2025],” Cody Wofsy, the lead lawyer in the ACLU’s case, told Blue Light News. “But the constitutional theory that the government is asking the Supreme Court to adopt casts a shadow over the citizenship of millions and millions of people who were born in this country and have lived their entire lives as citizens.”

Examples of high-profile birthright citizens — like Balogun, but also politicians such as Kamala Harris and Marco Rubio — help illustrate the reality of banning birthright citizenship, Wofsy said.

“We don’t know what the justices are thinking,” he said, “but I would hope that they understand just how grave an action the government’s asking them for.”