Secretary Wright Joins Fox Business' Varney & Co – October 6, 2026

Energy Secretary Chris Wright joins me now. So welcome back to the program. President Trump's new order allows truckers to fill up temporarily with red-dyed diesel. Okay, when is this gonna happen? When can a trucker drive out on the highway and pick up tax-free diesel? Saturday, Saturday. The order was signed yesterday and it's five days for Treasury and the Department of War to find the specific authorizations. But we're in a crisis right now with a shortage of diesel because of a conflict between Russia and Ukraine. China deciding not to export diesel anymore. And we still have reduced flows of refined products out of the Middle East, although they're on their way up. Goldman Sachs says diesel prices will stay high through 2027. They say, Goldman says, refineries just can't keep up with the demand. How do you respond to that? Well, it is a tight market because all of the Russian exports are out of the market. The Chinese exports are out of the market. We'll bring back the Middle East exports. U.S. refineries are running at highs. I think diesel prices peaked a couple weeks ago. They're down 20-25 cents already. I suspect we see a gradual decrease in diesel prices in the coming weeks and months ahead. Oil, we are told, is flowing through the Gulf at almost pre-war levels. Why is oil still pretty close to $90 a barrel? Because, you know, it's still a conflict zone. It's still a conflict zone. In fact, there's multiple conflict zones. But you've seen oil today, actually in the Trump administration, this administration, the average price of oil is well below what it was in the Biden administration. It's elevated right now with the conflict in Iran, but it's slowly coming down. And we could have much lower gasoline and diesel prices right now at today's oil prices if we didn't have the refinery crisis, again, mostly driven by the conflict between Ukraine and Russia and also China's decisions. But we've got we've got ways out of that. Trump is looking at every avenue to get more energy products out of the marketplace. Next one, sir. The Supreme Court is still trying to determine if the city of Boulder, Colorado, can sue oil companies. They're making a claim that the oil companies have got to pay for climate damage. If Colorado wins, there'll be an avalanche of lawsuits. That's not a good thing, is it? Oh, no, that would be a disaster. What you're seeing is just the next wave. This is a 17-year democratic effort to drive up the price of hydrocarbons. They want more expensive gasoline, more expensive diesel, more expensive electricity, which is why it's so disingenuous to hear their claims of affordability. And they want lower gas prices, lower diesel prices. For 17 years, their agenda has been to drive up energy prices, and they've succeeded. They have 50 cents more expensive gasoline in states run by Democrats, 40 to 50 percent more expensive electricity in states run by Democrats. President Trump is the opposite. He's trying to grow the supply of energy and grow the supply of industrial jobs. You see right behind me a specialized steel mill that makes steel needed for transformers. This is the kind of facility the Democrats have pushed to close. The Trump administration is reviving this facility to increase its output 25% so we can make domestic transformers for our electrical grid right here in the United States and not just rely on exports from abroad. I just want to go back to the Supreme Court and the Colorado case. Why should Colorado be the arbiter of energy policy for the whole country? Why should one municipality dictate energy prices and policy for the whole country? Of course it shouldn't, Stuart. You're so right. And of course Boulder County, as I often point out, highest per capita consumption of hydrocarbons of any county in Colorado, because it's the wealthiest county. Wealthy people consume more energy, but they're hypocritical. They live, their whole lives depend on hydrocarbons, and they claim they hate them. Every minute of every day that they engorge with them, they claim they hate them. They just, this is just shameless politics. They want to drive energy prices up, and they want to claim it's someone else's fault. That is the Democrat energy and climate agenda, and it has been for 17 years. I just don't understand this contempt for big oil. They've been supplying with great energy, which has made America a powerhouse, doing it for a century, and now they're the villains of the world. I don't understand it. I think it stems from pure hatred of the climate crowd for anything to do with oil. Last word to you. That's right. They hate capitalism. They hate the modern world. They enjoy the fruits of it every day, but in their heart, there's some guilt. There's some disconnect that makes them love to demonize their own lifestyles and everyone else's lifestyles. Yeah, it is a psychological problem. It is not new. No, it's not. It's been around as long as I've been in America. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, thank you very much for joining us, sir. We appreciate it, always. Thank you. Thank you, Stuart.