Biden Rejects Claims His Oil Release Motivated By Midterm Red Wave

President Joe Biden has rejected Republican claims that his latest release of 15 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve was a "politically motivated" move, despite the announcement coming less than three weeks from the midterm elections.

"It's not politically motivated at all," Biden told reporters on Wednesday. "It's motivated to make sure that I continue to push on what I've been pushing on, and that is making sure there's enough oil."

The draw from the reserve, which is set to come sometime in December, is the last of the barrels remaining from the 180 million barrels he ordered the Energy Department to disburse back in March.

Asked what he had to say to critics who called the move a PR stunt, Biden said, "Where have they been the last four months? That's my response."

"The problem is these guys were asleep. I don't know where they've been," the president added. "The price at the pump should reflect what the price of a barrel of oil costs. And it's not going down consistently."

The announcement comes as Republicans have made last-minute gains in the midterm polls as Americans remain increasingly worried about the state of the economy and rising costs for fuel.

In a survey that rocked Washington D.C. earlier this week, the New York Times and Siena College found the GOP with a four-point lead over the Democrats on a generic congressional ballot and voters who are most concerned with economy favoring Republicans by more than a two-to-one margin.

The Biden administration has been meeting with oil company executives in hopes of finding a path to provide relief for Americans struggling with skyrocketing inflation in what some have suspected to also be an eleventh-hour boost for the Democrats.

The U.S. has tried to contain gasoline prices and stabilize prices around the world by releasing oil from the reserve, and Biden signaled he is ready to replenish the reserve for additional sales if needed.

"The U.S. government is going to purchase oil to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve when prices fall to $70 a barrel, and that means oil companies can invest to ramp up production now," he said on Wednesday. World oil prices are currently hovering around $90 a barrel.

Biden also sent a clear message to Big Oil in his remarks, warning oil refining companies against gouging prices.

"You're sitting on record profits," he told them. "And we're giving you more certainty. So you can act now to increase oil production."