Senator Shelley Moore Capito acknowledged the pain of high fuel prices and connected that pressure to ongoing hostilities at the Strait of Hormuz, a vital narrow waterway that represents a major oil route.
But Capito again said she would not vote to declare war on Iran or restrict the president’s military authority.
Capito, R-W.Va., drew those conclusions during a call with West Virginia reporters.
National diesel prices have hit an all-time record high, crossing $6 a gallon for the first time according to AAA data. That is nearly a 70% increase compared to last year when prices were about $3.69 a gallon.
Crude oil, the raw material used to make fuel, has pushed past $100 a barrel.
That has all happened as tanker traffic is heavily restricted in key shipping lanes like the Strait of Hormuz.
The result has been increased costs for transportation companies, farmers and consumers.
“I think the cost of diesel is really hurting our American industry, our coal mines, our agriculture industries,” Capito said in response to a question posed by WOWK political correspondent Maddy Sperling.
“Anything that powers — and many people do in the in the manufacturing sector power with diesel. But also the cost of just regular automobile fuel is up over $4 now. I think in in West Virginia, and that’s untenable.”
Capito agreed with an element of the question that connected high fuel prices with conflict blocking or delaying shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow water channel that carries roughly 20% of the world’s oil and natural gas.
Ships face higher insurance rates, longer detours, and higher operating costs when trying to avoid the area.
Capito further described activities by the Iranian-allied Houthis, who have disrupted fuel and commercial shipping lanes by attacking vessels and seizing strategic territory along the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which is the path ships use to reach the Suez Canal from Asia.
Their advances closed off vital shipping lane alternatives used after the Strait of Hormuz faced disruptions, forcing a sharp drop in Red Sea traffic. The combined chokehold on key Middle Eastern waterways has pressured global energy markets and driven up oil prices.
“It’s concerning when you see like the Houthis have been able to take over part of the Suez Canal and the Red Sea, and you see pipelines being stopped there. We need to, as I’ve said many times, we need to wrap this thing up and and and get the get the flow of oil back to what it was pre Iranian situation,” Capito said.
Lawmakers and oversight bodies have suggested at Congress lacks the necessary transparency and full accounting from the administration to properly assess the war with Iran.
While the administration has given closed-door updates, key Democratic and Republican lawmakers have said they still lack clear strategic objectives, exit plans or full disclosure on the scope of the conflict.
Capito said that is not her view, though.
“Do we have the transparency? We do. We have testimony all the time in front of Congress from the administration, and I think there was some revelations made maybe this week or this past week about the actual cost,” Capito said.
“And it’s becoming very costly, and not just in time, but in treasure, and you know personally, I think West Virginians not only when they look at their diesel prices and gas prices are ready for it to come down, are ready for it to end.”
The U.S. Senate learned this week from a Congressional Budget Office report that the war against Iran has cost the Department of Defense more than $38 billion through August 1.
President Trump said in March the conflict would likely last only four or five weeks. Instead, it has dragged on for nearly seven months.
The total number of U.S. military personnel killed in the conflict is 18, and more than 750 U.S. service members have been reported wounded since the conflict began.
Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution assigns Congress the sole and exclusive power to formally declare war. The United States Constitution’s Article II also explicitly designates the president as the commander in chief.
The War Powers Resolution of 1973 restricts the president from committing U.S. troops to armed conflicts without congressional authorization or a declared emergency.
The president may only commit forces for 60 days without congressional approval. The current U.S. fighting with Iran began Feb. 28.
Capito has consistently voted against war powers limitations and congressional restrictions, maintaining that the executive branch needs operational flexibility to counter threats in the region.
Capito again said she would oppose a war powers measure, the senator said in response to a question by Ben Schwartz, news anchor for WVVA television in the Bluefield area.
“I voted no on every single one, and I would vote no on the next one,” Capito said.
“I think that the president — number one, we’re not engaged in war and aggressive actions now, and so there’s a question as to, you know, is it even necessary to characterize it as as a war as such?
“But I do think that the president needs to have the leeway and the ability to make sure that Iran doesn’t have a nuclear weapon, and hopefully that he wraps this up as soon as he possibly can, which I know is what he’s trying to do.”