Schumer to Trump: Tap the SPR now as oil and pump prices spike

With input from Axios, the Hill, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer on Sunday publicly urged President Trump to open the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to blunt the sudden jump in gasoline and oil prices triggered by the fighting around Iran.

Oil briefly shot up toward $120 a barrel over the weekend — Brent hit about $119.50 and WTI nearly $119.48 before both pulled back into the low-$100s. The flare-up has effectively choked tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, pressuring supplies and pushing US pump prices up roughly 43 cents a gallon since Feb. 28; the national average for regular is about $3.48, according to AAA.

“The Strategic Petroleum Reserve exists for moments exactly like this,” Schumer said, arguing a release would help “stabilize markets, bring prices down, and stop the price shock that American families are already feeling.”

He blamed the administration’s military action for the spike and urged immediate action.

The White House side pushed back. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CBS’s Face the Nation that the price bump should be “temporary” and warned public reactions were driven by fear that the conflict will drag on; he suggested the administration has other short-term tools at its disposal. Trump, meanwhile, has criticized prior draws on the SPR, saying President Biden used stockpiles for political reasons and left levels too low — a line Schumer seized on in his appeal for a quick release.

A practical wrinkle: the SPR sits in Gulf Coast salt caverns and, officials have said, would need repairs and costly refilling if drawn down — figures floated last year put repairs in the tens of millions and a top-up at billions. Still, Schumer’s message was blunt: when global crises pinch energy markets, “the United States has the ability to act.”

Bottom line: expect the SPR debate to turn into a political slugfest this week as lawmakers weigh whether a release would cool prices fast enough to matter — or simply hand a talking point to opponents.