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EXCLUSIVE: Interior Secretary Doug Burgum claims California’s dependence on foreign oil is a “national security risk,” arguing that restrictive blue state energy policies are undermining U.S. energy dominance.
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Burgum contrasted energy policies in places like Pennsylvania and Alaska, where he and Energy Secretary Chris Wright recently toured the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as it was primed for expanded resource development with more restrictive states like California shutting down refineries.
Soon after taking office, President Donald Trump announced a pivot toward utilizing America’s natural resources to power the U.S. economy and its energy grid rather than making public lands “reserves” where nothing can touch them.
“Natural gas in Pennsylvania is going to be [about] $1 in the summer; it might be $2 in the winter … but it’ll be $12 in New England because New England isn’t getting their gas from Pennsylvania. They blocked the pipelines from Pennsylvania,” Burgum said.
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New England hit a cold snap in 2018 and had to import natural gas from Russia in part due to such conditions.
“So they, like California, will be importing foreign sources of energy into New England,” Burgum said.
“California is the national security risk. They’re getting 60%-plus … of oil in California imported from foreign countries. Iraq’s at the top of the list. They’re shipping it from halfway around the world to run the largest fleet of internal combustion cars in the country in California.”
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Burgum warned that the Golden State once had 40 oil refineries but is now down to nine, with two more on their way out to Texas and beyond.
“So, stay tuned. There’s gonna be gasoline coming from foreign countries into California to run their cars. They’ve got almost double the price for gasoline right now today that you’d find in Houston or Oklahoma or in North Dakota.
“Policies are driving pricing. Politicians drive policies. President Trump is bringing down prices for Americans.”
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In response to Burgum’s assertion, Newsom spokesman Anthony Martinez told Fox News Digital later Wednesday that the secretary’s claim California poses a national security risk “isn’t grounded in fact.
“The state has proactively engaged defense fuel customers throughout this energy transition, and no credible concerns have been raised about future fuel supply for the military. California is leading this transition responsibly while ensuring families have access to a safe, reliable, and affordable supply of transportation fuels,” Martinez said.
“California is doing the serious work to protect consumers and stabilize our fuel market during a global energy transition that is reshaping refineries across the country and around the world. That’s why Governor Newsom called two special sessions that delivered SB X1-2 and AB X2-1, giving the state real-time oversight and transparency tools that have helped Californians avoid severe price spikes in 2024 and 2025 like we saw in 2022 and 2023.” he added.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright told a crowd in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, Tuesday that former President Joe Biden’s “four-year, all-out war on energy” was a major driver of inflation and “weakened our nation.”
Using Pennsylvania as his example, he noted the state’s foundational role in U.S. energy — from the first successful oil well in Venango County to anthracite coal and today’s Marcellus Shale, which New York shares but blocks from development.
DOE official Ben Dietderich shared new department data showing average electricity costs of $0.18 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in blue states versus $0.11 in red states, compared with a national average of $0.13.
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“While blue states saw an average increase of 4.0 cents per kilowatt-hour — the equivalent of $320 in added annual household electricity expenditures — red states saw an average increase of just 1.5 cents per kilowatt-hour, the equivalent of $175 in added annual household electricity expenditures,” Dietderich said.
“The data is clear: high energy prices are a choice.”
California led the list of eight states with energy price increases, with Hawaii, several New England states, New York and Maryland following.
California and Connecticut had the most market hike in annual household electricity bills at $650 and $450, respectively.
The department also warned the U.S. was on track to experience 100 times more blackouts by 2030 due to the shuttering of coal and natural gas plants.
“Despite our progress on renewables, 90% of energy consumption in the state can still be traced to imported oil, used to generate roughly 65% of our electricity and for ground, air and marine transportation,” said Yvonne Hunter, an official at Hawaii’s state energy agency.
Hunter said imported fossil fuels drive Hawaii’s high energy costs and that the state uses the avoided cost of oil as the benchmark for new renewable projects. She added that Gov. Josh Green last year directed the agency to accelerate Hawaii’s transition to carbon-free energy and evaluate alternatives to residual fuel oil while creating opportunities for grid-infrastructure investment.
The Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy noted in a brief that Massachusetts’ Everett Marine Terminal connects New England with natural gas supplies coming as far as Trinidad, calling it an “absurd outcome” given the area’s relative proximity to the shale deposit spanning Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and albeit-embargoed New York.
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During the bellwether Virginia off-year elections, Republicans were hammered with sentiments that the affordability crisis has continued into the Trump era, with Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger making it key to her campaign.
In that regard, Wright’s office argued that Trump and Wright declared an “energy emergency” on the first day of their term and have been a driving force behind gas prices averaging under $3 per gallon.
The top four states with the highest gas taxes, another cost-factor, are all blue states — California, Illinois, Washington and Pennsylvania.
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Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has been the rare Democrat to signal an openness to a broader energy portfolio, announcing his “Lightning Plan” earlier this year to accelerate permitting for new energy exploration sites and partnering with Republican Sen. David McCormick to “move America forward” in the energy field.
The commonwealth, however, reflects some of the nation’s highest gas prices.
Many Pennsylvania-centric oil companies also departed over the years, including Pennzoil and Quaker State, as “Pennsylvania Grade” crude was largely abandoned in favor of Gulf Coast light-sweet crude.
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Fox News Digital reached out to Shapiro for comment.
Fox News Digital also reached out to California Gov. Gavin Newsom for a response to Burgum’s assertion his state is a national security risk and also inquired with officials in Connecticut and Massachusetts over criticisms implied and otherwise by Wright and Burgum. A Connecticut official confirmed receipt but did not respond by press time.
In response to Energy Department criticism of Maryland, which has the seventh-highest gas tax and electricity costs, around $0.16 per kWh, a spokesperson for Gov. Wes Moore pushed back, saying, “Marylanders don’t pay their power bill in red or blue. They pay it in dollars.”
Ammar Moussa argued that Trump-era tariffs on steel and utility equipment, along with what he called a “nightmare budget,” are driving up costs, adding that the governor is focused on cutting bills and keeping the lights on, “not playing political games with people’s bills.”
While her state remains under a fracking moratorium, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul enraged her fellow Democrats and surprised some Republicans by approving a controversial pipeline targeting New York City.
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Rep. Jerry Nadler of Manhattan expressed “profound” disappointment, telling The Hill it “threatens coastal economies that depend on clean water, recreation and tourism, while exposing nearby communities to unnecessary health and safety risks.”
Burgum said another major component preventing a return to energy dominance has been the political aversion to harnessing reserves of rare earth elements and critical minerals.
The secretary said the U.S. “abdicated” its development abilities to China, where, he said, 12,000 people per year have graduated with metallurgy degrees as America falls behind with about 600.
“We basically got out of this business. We have to get back in it,” Burgum said, suggesting the situation is another victim of the green energy push.
Fox News Digital’s Kiera McDonald contributed to this report.
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