White House to Invoke Defense Production Act to Increase Fuel Output at Texas Refinery
Will this finally lower fuel prices or is ending the war the only real fix?
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Above: U.S. Vice President JD Vance at Tyler Pounds Regional Airport in Tyler, Texas, on Oct. 13. Image credit: Saul Loeb-Pool/Getty Images
The Facts
- U.S. Vice President JD Vance announced on Tuesday during a rally supporting Republican Ken Paxton that the Trump administration would enact the Defense Production Act to expand fuel production at a refinery in Tyler, Texas.
- Vance said the administration would work with Delek U.S. Holdings Inc. to deliver the initiative, which aims to add "millions of gallons of commercial-grade and military-spec fuel" to what the refinery is already producing.
- He argued the development would reduce fuel and travel costs, at a time when gas and diesel prices have reached $5.02 and $6.53, respectively, according to the latest figures from the American Automobile Association.
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The Spin
Pro-Trump narrative
Unleashing wartime authority to crank out more fuel is exactly the kind of muscular governing that moves pump prices. More domestic refining capacity means cheaper flights, cheaper commutes, a steadier supply and a military that never runs short. Hundreds of good-paying jobs will also land in Texas towns, so kids can build a future without leaving home.
Anti-Trump narrative
This measure is just another desperate ploy by an administration flailing to control a fuel crisis it created. Ultimately, no amount of executive flourish can conjure more barrels than the war in the Middle East took off the market. If the White House really wants to lower fuel prices, it must end the conflict that sent them soaring in the first place.
