Does Joe Biden 1) honestly believe that natural gas is an existential threat to mankind, as he regularly claims, or is he 2) more concerned with appeasing — for political purposes — environmentalist alarmists? Ponder the question if necessary — but I’m gonna go with option 2.

The president’s quest for fossil fuels never ends. He has declared war on gas appliances, including gas ranges and gas dishwashers.

The White House and Department of Energy announced their next goal on Friday morning. It’s huge.

Environmentalists demanded this unprecedented action in recent months. The White House has halted the permit process for several proposed LNG export terminal projects due to their possible impact on climate change.

The pause is necessary while federal officials complete a thorough environmental assessment of the carbon emissions from these projects. This could take up to a year. In recent weeks, climate activists have been vocally attacking LNG export projects. They claim that they will cause a significant increase in emissions and worsen global warming.

Jennifer Granholm, the ever-smug Secretary of Energy, told reporters during a press conference:

We must continue to review applications for exports as our exports grow, using the most current and comprehensive analysis of economic, environmental, and national security factors. This action includes a temporary halt on all pending requests for the export of U.S. Natural Gas as LNG to countries that are not part of a free trade agreement until the Department can update its underlying analyses.

National security considerations Do you mean the national security concerns that Biden considers as he continues to allow illegal immigrants to flood into this country in record numbers? Please.

Granholm then continued with a ridiculous – and false – disclaimer.

The U.S. commits to providing affordable energy and opportunities for economic growth for all Americans. We are committed to strengthening energy security both here in the U.S. as well as with our allies. We are committed to protecting Americans from climate change, as we lead the way into a future of clean energy.

Let me fix it.

We’re determined to drive up the price of natural gas to make Americans more receptive to unreliable and unproven “clean energy” alternatives. We’re more than willing to continue to bow down to environmentalists and other liberals because we need their votes.

That’s a better way to put it.

Here’s more:

Although it’s unclear which projects will be affected, a senior official of the administration told reporters that at least two of them have a higher capacity while two others have a lower capacity. A second official said that the pause will only affect projects that have already been approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and are ready for DOE approval.

According to the federal data that was updated this week, 11 projects have been approved by FERC, but are not yet in construction. Four more projects are pending with FERC, and two others are in the pre-filing phase. The DOE has not yet approved these six projects, so they won’t be affected by the pause. However, they will be if FERC approves them.

Ali Zaidi, White House climate czar, made a statement that was as predictable as it could be.

We have always stood by our partners and allies. Joe Biden is a leader in climate change. When it comes to climate change, we are squared-shouldered, we face the challenges, we embrace the solutions, and yes, we do a global transition away from fossil fuels. The president’s strategy is the answer.

We are doing this a few weeks after a U.N. Climate Conference where, under the leadership of President Biden, the United States was in the forefront, ensuring that the international community was clear-eyed on the need to globally transition away from fossil fuels.

Former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission chair Neil Chatterjee said to Fox News Digital the Biden administration was making a mistake.

They’re making a big mistake here. This isn’t just bad political policy; it’s also bad policy. We promised our European allies and Germany that we would help them. It’s not a good idea to play politics with energy security.

“What is frustrating, from an environmental standpoint, is that U.S. LNG displaces even more intensive fossil fuel sources overseas. Our process is much cleaner than that of the Russians. We are not only providing geopolitical benefits to our allies but also lowering global carbon emissions by substituting U.S. Liquefied Natural Gas for dirtier fuels. The activists are ignoring this.

Chatterjee is right, but there’s a problem. Democrats only care about facts, data, and science when they are used to support leftist narratives. COVID-19 was a good example. Facts that don’t fit the narrative of the left are either ignored, lied about, or dismissed.

After the White House announcement was made, House Speaker Mike Johnson issued a statement warning that Biden plays into Putin’s hands.

The announcement made by President Biden was outrageous and subversive. Stopping LNG export terminals like Calcasieu Pass 2 is not only detrimental to America’s economy but also empowers our enemies like Vladimir Putin.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, American petroleum producers increased LNG shipments in Europe. This was done to avoid a continent-wide, catastrophic energy crisis, and provide an alternative for Russian energy exports.

This administration’s demand that American taxpayers spend billions of dollars to defeat Russia while forcing allies to depend on Russian energy to give Putin an edge is outrageous.

This policy change is also in direct contradiction to the promises made by the White House when it announced the US-EU Task Force a little over two years ago, which aimed to reduce Europe’s dependency on Russia and increase energy security.

It’s a nail. Biden’s ability to understand the seriousness of the Speaker’s statements is the question. Answer: The answer is chilling.

Conclusion:

Joe Biden, if the environmental alarmists came out and said they had changed their position on natural gases today, would sing its praises. He’d eat his pudding cup before going to bed.