So we go crawling after avowed enemies like the Iranians and Venezuelans instead of increasing American energy production. Disgusting. Former Energy Secretary Rick Perry is not anused.

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Perry: Russia’s act of total war on the Ukrainian people should have been a clear wake-up call for President Biden. Instead, he has mistakenly viewed this crisis as an opportunity to double down on reckless policies that cede American energy independence and transform the national security landscape for the worse.

President Biden’s announcement of a U.S. ban on Russian energy imports is a good first step, but it is, unfortunately, more symbolic than punitive. And despite what Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., wishes us to believe, it is not “American fossil fuel companies” that have “helped fuel Putin’s despicable war,” it is the energy policies of President Biden.

On day one, the Biden administration signaled to the world that American energy leadership was approaching a turning point. His administration revoked permitting for the Keystone XL pipeline, paused new leases on federal lands, and began to issue a flurry of executive orders and policy directives that suffocate new production.

The result has been a regulatory framework that creates supply bottlenecks, strains industry access to capital, and promotes the politicization of American energy security. Simply put, economic disaster and American inflexibility on the world stage.

The consequences of Biden’s lead-from-behind approach are clear. Americans now face an economic crisis not seen in forty years as inflation continues to mount, now reaching 7.9%. Oil prices continue their volatility well above the $100 mark.

For those wondering how vital American energy is to our economic well-being, we should note that one-quarter of inflationary growth this past year is the result of gasoline prices.

Instead of unleashing the benefits of our vast resources and pausing his aggressive pursuit of climate policy at all cost, Biden has preferred to court the resources of authoritarian rogue states like Iran and Venezuela.

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The Biden administration is paralyzed by ineptitude, and out over its skis when it comes to understanding energy market complexities. Despite what the progressive pundits want us to believe, it is not the American people, but the far-removed bureaucrats in Biden’s administration that are failing to understand the current crisis.

Biden’s recklessness now has American diplomats flirting with yet more sanction waivers for our adversaries, a move that would offer billions in annual revenue to Iran and Venezuela instead of the American people.

Make no mistake, these sanctioned nations have not cleaned up their act, far from it. The only difference is that President Biden has painted himself into a corner.

Venezuela, a prolific human rights abuser, and authoritarian regime bent on undermining U.S. interests, has long had economic ties with other U.S. adversaries, such as China and Iran. Most notably President Nicolas Maduro’s regime is propped up by its oil-for-loans program with the Chinese Communist Party and engages in illicit trade with Iran’s energy sector…

Is this what a “foreign policy for the middle class” looks like? The Biden administration should be pursuing policies that empower American workers, and prioritize American families, not the pockets of nefarious dictators like Ayatollah Khamenei or President Maduro.