'The moral equivalent of blood diamonds'

As President Joe Biden wages an economic war against Russia, he’s facing difficult tradeoffs in his domestic battle against inflation.

White House officials are keenly aware that an energy price shock emanating from Eastern Europe could have ripple effects across the globe, including for U.S. consumers, who are already facing decades-high price pressures.

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A key question for the White House: Will voters see the tradeoffs as worth it?

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki in a tweet thread Sunday night made the case that U.S. oil and natural gas production is going up, but acknowledged “Russia’s actions still leave our consumers vulnerable,” and said the global energy market “will always be vulnerable to bad actors.”

Rachel Ziemba, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, says: “It is notable to me that there is a lot of bipartisan support behind this policy of punishing Russia, punishing the Russian economy. The American public responding to the costs at the pump though – it’s not clear to me how they’ll respond,” she said.

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