Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas has launched a formal inquiry into why the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) remains at a 40-year low as the United States continues its military engagement with Iran. In a letter to Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Cotton charged that the previous administration drained 180 million barrels in 2022 to suppress gas prices ahead of the midterm elections. He argued that the move left the country vulnerable at a time when the Iranian regime maintains a chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz.
The SPR currently holds approximately 415 million barrels of crude, a significant drop from its 700-million-barrel capacity. Cotton noted that the drawdown under the Biden administration was not a response to a supply emergency, but rather a "deliberate political act" intended to shield the party from its own energy policies. He highlighted that while the reserve was being emptied, an executive order was signed to halt new oil and gas leases on federal lands, further constraining domestic production.
The Senator also reminded Secretary Wright that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and congressional Democrats blocked President Donald Trump’s 2020 bid to refill the reserve. At the time, oil was trading at historic lows, but Democrats stripped $3 billion from a COVID-19 stimulus package that would have topped off the nation's supplies. Cotton is now demanding an assessment of how that blockage and the leasing halt have impacted current national security.
Ironically, the same Democrats who once blocked refilling the reserve are now calling for President Trump to tap into the SPR. This comes after oil prices spiked to four-year highs following the launch of Operation Epic Fury against the Iranian nuclear threat. Schumer has argued that the reserve "exists for moments exactly like this," a stance Cotton dismissed as inconsistent with his past actions.
The Strait of Hormuz remains a critical focal point, with roughly 20% of global petroleum consumption passing through its waters. Cotton emphasized that the SPR must be treated as a "strategic national security asset" rather than a political tool for election cycles. The administration’s current focus on a national security surge aims to protect these trade routes while rebuilding the domestic energy independence lost over the last four years.
As the 2026 midterms approach, the debate over energy security is expected to be a central pillar of the "American Manufacturing Renaissance." Restoring the SPR is seen by many center-right advocates as a common-sense necessity for maintaining "Peace Through Strength" in a volatile global market. For Tom Cotton, the priority is clear: the United States must never again be caught with its reserves drained for the sake of political optics.