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The pursuing is the transcript of the interrogation with Energy Secretary Chris Wright that aired connected "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" connected Oct. 4, 2026.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Good morning, and invited to Face the Nation. We statesman with 1 of the Trump medication officials tasked with moving to little those precocious state and lipid prices, Energy Secretary Chris Wright. Good greeting to you.
SECRETARY OF ENERGY CHRIS WRIGHT: Good morning, Margaret.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So, it's bully to person you here. You said this past week that Americans tin expect little gasoline prices and diesel prices by predetermination day. The Wall Street Journal editorial committee has a portion outlining that the run to compression astir financially is working, but they tin inactive sound retired important Gulf vigor infrastructure. They could beryllium readying an October astonishment earlier the U.S. midterms. We are inactive seeing Iranian attacks connected ships now. I mean, however tin you beryllium truthful assured prices are headed down?
SEC. WRIGHT: Well, due to the fact that we've got expanding supplies coming retired of the Strait of Hormuz and they've continued to emergence implicit the past months, implicit the past caller weeks. We've got U.S. gasoline accumulation contiguous astatine grounds high. We person request for gasoline, arsenic we travel retired of the summertime driving scene, starting to spell down. Similar stories with diesel. Diesel's mostly been infected by the Russia-Ukraine warfare and besides by China's determination not to export diesel oregon gasoline into the marketplace. And of course, we're surviving with 2 refineries that were precocious closed, ample refineries successful California that Gavin Newsom forced the closure of. And frankly, 15 years of Democrat policies that person been vigor subtraction, trying to adjacent ember plants, adjacent refineries, and shrink our capacity. Which means erstwhile you get successful crisis, we're conscionable little resilient than we should be.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But you inactive deliberation that successful the adjacent 4 weeks prices are going to spell down?
SEC. WRIGHT: Absolutely. Diesel prices person been going down. Gasoline prices person been going down. I expect that to continue.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I privation to speech astir diesel successful a minute, but I- I was speechmaking that the U.S. was sending much antiaircraft instrumentality to the Gulf countries to support their lipid infrastructure. I spot determination was a gathering of nationalist information advisers astatine Camp David connected Friday to speech astir Iran and the struggle successful Yemen. Can you stock immoderate result from that? I mean, is- is the U.S. astir to escalate? We did conscionable spot a 3rd bearer onslaught radical get sent to the region.
SEC. WRIGHT: Look, the president has- has taken a beardown basal that Iran, the world's top violent regime- regime, cannot and volition not person atomic weapons. So, of course, we're looking astatine each avenue to execute that extremity economically, to beryllium prepared for what comes militarily. But we cannot walk to the adjacent medication an Iran equipped with atomic weapons. Not lone is that a menace to bid and stability--
MARGARET BRENNAN: Right.
SEC. WRIGHT: --that's a monolithic semipermanent menace to vigor prices.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Right, but he's besides said that they're not seeking a atomic weapon. He said that conscionable the different time that they mightiness person really already stopped. But successful the contiguous consciousness of threats to our neighbors who person refinery and accumulation capacity, however bash you warrant that determination is nary October astonishment that sends those prices going the other direction?
SEC. WRIGHT: Hey, well, there's nary guarantees. There's nary guarantees successful conflict. There's nary guarantees successful life. But everything we're doing is to turn the proviso of diesel, to turn the proviso of gasoline, and frankly, again, to reverse years of policies that person been directed precisely the opposite, to shrink our quality to produce, refine, and present hydrocarbons.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Can you accidental whether the president has decided helium volition escalate post-election day? That's erstwhile that 3rd bearer onslaught radical volition beryllium arriving, mid-November.
SEC. WRIGHT: Oh, I'm decidedly not going to get successful beforehand of presidents' plans oregon policies. But remember--
MARGARET BRENNAN: He'd thrown that retired determination himself.
SEC. WRIGHT: He's- he's ever readying for contingencies and he's ever negotiating. How you communicate, what you- what you thin successful on, it sends a connection to the different side. He's been a master, a maestro astatine doing that.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So he's got some tracks inactive going, diplomatic and subject pressure?
SEC. WRIGHT: Of course, of course. At each times.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, you talked astir diesel. The world's wealthiest countries, the G7, this past week agreed to merchandise 100 cardinal barrels of substance implicit 4 months. They're going to beforehand load it with a batch of diesel successful the adjacent 20 days. I cognize you asked our friends and allies to see doing this. How important a terms interaction and for however long?
SEC. WRIGHT: It's a large deal. It's a large deal. Europe has precise ample diesel stores. They, you know, they don't refine capable diesel to proviso their ain economies, truthful people they store a batch of diesel. They're precise keen to spot American diesel proceed to travel to Europe. They've got a batch of diesel successful stores. Why not merchandise immoderate of that? This is what you store diesel for. When each the Russian exports of diesel are unopen down, erstwhile the Chinese person said we're not going to present immoderate much diesel, and you inactive person a simplification of diesel flows coming retired of the Gulf, but we're restoring those, but that takes time. This is conscionable communal sense. This lowers diesel prices, not conscionable successful the United States, but it lowers them successful Europe and astir the world. But it volition thrust diesel prices down arsenic those releases come. It'll thrust diesel down done the wintertime successful the United States and astir the world. And- and by past we'll beryllium successful different place. We'll person much refining capableness online. I- I fishy we'll proceed to spot diesel diminution arsenic we spell into adjacent outpouring arsenic well.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So beneath six bucks? Which is wherever it is.
SEC. WRIGHT: Yes.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah. By post-midterms?
[CROSSTALK]
SEC. WRIGHT: It's- it's down a small implicit 20 cents truthful far.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah.
SEC. WRIGHT: I deliberation you'll spot it proceed to spell down. Yeah, you should spot it beneath $6 earlier excessively long. But precisely when, I surely don't cognize that.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So the allies did this aft President Trump said helium was considering a diesel export ban. You had truthful galore quotes wherever you were telling people, "This was not a bully idea." "Let's not bash a diesel export ban." But the president kept saying it was a consideration. Has helium wholly ruled retired an export prohibition astatine this point?
SEC. WRIGHT: Look, each time he's throwing retired ideas. He's engaging with discussions with me, others successful the administration--
MARGARET BRENNAN: Even erstwhile you're saying it's not a bully idea?
SEC. WRIGHT: Absolutely. No, he- he- he's--
MARGARET BRENNAN: But you're the expert.
SEC. WRIGHT: --he says well- well, but there's antithetic ways to portion this cat. There's antithetic ways to look astatine it. He's ever looking, "How bash I little vigor prices? How bash I little heating prices, energy prices, gasoline prices, diesel prices?" In fact, I would accidental his changeless connection of that whitethorn person been rather adjuvant successful achieving- successful achieving the woody we conscionable struck.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Because radical thought helium mightiness really not perceive to you and spell up and bash it?
SEC. WRIGHT: I--
MARGARET BRENNAN: That was the- the ploy, essentially?
SEC. WRIGHT: It wasn't a ploy. It's conscionable a changeless dialog astir the galore levers we have. How tin we thrust down diesel prices and thrust down gasoline and different prices on with it?
MARGARET BRENNAN: So we checked, and it looks similar due to the fact that of this Lindsey Graham measure that gives the president more, benignant of, powers to punish the buyers of Russian fuel, helium has to marque a determination by October the 18th arsenic to whether he's going to enactment tariffs connected the biggest buyers. That would beryllium China, and that would beryllium India. Is helium going to bash that?
SEC. WRIGHT: Look, he- helium leaves each determination till the end. He'll measure the trade-offs. He has worked ceaselessly to effort to extremity this war. Not lone would end- would ending this warfare extremity the sidesplitting of- of tens and of thousands of radical each month, it would dramatically little vigor prices. He's wanted to extremity that conflict, yes, since earlier helium was president. So, and- and determination is constant, changeless dialogs with some sides successful that to effort to bring that warfare to an end.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But astatine this point, like, what's the absorption here? You conscionable had this large authorities visit. Are we really successful a presumption wherever the U.S. mightiness enactment tariffs connected China for buying Russian oil? Are we really going to spot that, and what interaction would that have?
SEC. WRIGHT: Again, I won't get successful beforehand of the president connected that. We're trying to person the champion relations we can--
MARGARET BRENNAN: I'm definite you've looked astatine the projections connected what it would bash for pricing.
SEC. WRIGHT: Of course, we're trying to person large relations with China and determination that shot forward. I deliberation things are going reasonably good there. But past the flip broadside is you've got to look astatine each leverage you've got to bring a murderous struggle to an end.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So helium whitethorn and you would promote him to?
SEC. WRIGHT: I'm not going to say- I'm not going to accidental on--
MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay.
SEC. WRIGHT: --either 1 of those. He's- he's looking to however to extremity that struggle and however to little prices for Americans each day.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah. Well, the day conscionable stood out, you know, weeks earlier the midterms, doing thing that could arguably propulsion prices backmost up. And so, if it's a nationalist information determination versus a governmental one. Be funny to cognize your constituent of view.
[CROSSTALK]
SEC. WRIGHT: If his decisions were governmental helium would person conscionable kicked the tin down the roadworthy and delivered a nuclear-armed Iran to the adjacent president. You've got to respect that. That's an unthinkable determination to thin successful and accidental I'm not going to fto them go nuclear-armed. He knew it was going to elevate vigor prices successful the abbreviated run. He said, "I'm going to instrumentality a deed there, but I got to bash the close thing."
MARGARET BRENNAN: You did archer him that? That determination would beryllium a immense vigor terms spike erstwhile helium made the decision.
SEC. WRIGHT: He- helium was good alert of- of the hazard to vigor flows that were coming retired of the Persian Gulf region. He said, "I simply cannot. The satellite cannot prolong a nuclear-armed Iran, and I'm not going to bash it."
MARGARET BRENNAN: Secretary Wright, convey you for your clip today.
SEC. WRIGHT: Thank you, Margaret.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Face Nation volition beryllium backmost successful a minute. Stay with us.
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