Press Releases

Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA) today led 16 House Democrats in urging the immediate reinstatement of the State Department’s Bureau of Energy Resources and its personnel amid severe disruptions following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and damage to key energy infrastructure caused by the Trump administration’s reckless war of choice in Iran, which has intensified volatility in global energy markets and driven up oil and gas prices. The Members warned that these shocks are cascading through global supply chains, driving up costs for transportation, manufacturing, and essential consumer goods, and further straining American household budgets.

In calling for the reversal of recent staff terminations and the DOGE-mandated dismantling of the State Department’s energy diplomacy apparatus, the lawmakers emphasized that at a moment of heightened global instability, the U.S. urgently needs dedicated subject matter expertise and a fully staffed Bureau of Energy Resources. They highlighted the Bureau’s critical role in coordinating interagency efforts, engaging with foreign governments, and advancing U.S. leadership in global energy initiatives. The lawmakers further warned that the loss of dedicated energy expertise within the State Department could leave the United States less prepared to respond to rapidly evolving global energy flows.

In a letter addressed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the Members wrote:

“Dear Secretary Rubio:

The Administration’s war with Iran resulted in the immediate reactive closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas travels, as well as damage to energy infrastructure in the Middle East. This has cascading impacts across every industry and supply chain dependent on oil and gas, not to mention increased domestic energy prices for the average American family. Given this, we write to urge you to reverse the closure of the Department of State’s Bureau of Energy Resources (Bureau) and immediately reinstate the Bureau staff and subject matter experts that were terminated at the request of the Department of Government Efficiency.

We need energy expertise to lessen damage from this poorly thought through war and to help navigate its effects on the global energy supply chain. Congress and then President George W. Bush recognized that energy diplomacy and security was integral to the State Department’s mission when it established a Coordinator for International Energy Affairs within the Office of the Secretary of State back in 2007. Building off that Congressional recognition and need for a designated entity within the Department of State, the Bureau was established in 2011. Since its establishment, the Bureau has provided geopolitical energy expertise to both Republican and Democratic Administrations, engaged in robust interagency coordination efforts, and acted as a liaison for foreign governments with the goal of solidifying U.S. leadership in global energy initiatives. Without the staff expertise this Bureau provides, the U.S. will continue to stumble like a bull in a china shop in geopolitical energy conversations as the situation evolves in the Midde East and the Strait of Hormuz. Reinstating the Bureau and its experts is the best course forward for mitigating damage and helping prevent further market shocks that poor planning has done thus far.

Americans continue to feel the easily anticipated consequences of the President’s actions in Iran that this Bureau might have helped prevent. We are still learning the longstanding impacts that this war will have on the energy supply chain and the pocketbook of the American taxpayer. American families should not have to weather these high energy prices and global energy shocks that this war is causing. We should be looking for solutions that prevent widespread fear, confusion, and strains on household budgets. Therefore, it is time to reopen the State Department’s Bureau of Energy Resources and reinstate the geopolitical energy experts that were terminated last summer.”

The letter is signed by U.S. Representatives Don Beyer (D-VA), Sean Casten (D-IL), Joaquin Castro (D-TX), Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), Danny Davis (D-IL), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Laura Friedman (D-CA), Jonathan Jackson (D-IL), Bill Keating (D-MA), Sarah McBride (D-DE), Dave Min (D-CA), Mike Quigley (D-IL), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA), Marc Veasey (D-TX), and James Walkinshaw (D-VA).

A signed copy of the letter is available here.