Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., had a tense exchange Wednesday with President Biden’s energy secretary, Jennifer Granholm, whom he accused of coordinating the release of U.S. emergency oil reserves with China. During a hearing before the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, Schmitt noted that the U.S. has failed to replenish its Strategic Petroleum Reserve since it encouraged other countries to release their stockpiles in response to Russia’s war against Ukraine in 2022.
Schmitt cited figures that 900,000 barrels of oil had been sold to an American subsidiary of Sinopec, a Chinese-owned company, "which in turn had received billions of dollars from BHR Partners," a private equity firm co-founded by the president’s son, Hunter Biden, who held a 10% stake in the company.