(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden’s energy chief defended the administration’s record on oil production, after getting peppered with questions from Republican lawmakers amid soaring gasoline prices following Saudi Arabia’s decision to cut crude supply.

“Right now, we are at record levels of production of oil and gas,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said during testimony before a US House committee Thursday. “There is no blocking of production in the United States.”

Biden is facing intensifying political pressure over the issue. Gasoline prices have climbed more than 7% in the past eight weeks — increasing consumer prices and giving Republican foes a window to seize on the runup. Administration officials are talking with US oil producers and refiners to ensure a stable supply, Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Jared Bernstein told reporters yesterday. But meanwhile, Biden has also pledged to help wean the US off of fossil fuels to fight climate change. 

Granholm, who was appearing before the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, was responding to a question from Texas Republican Representative Brian Babin, who noted it was “disappointing” to see the Biden administration blocking US oil production by denying permits. As noted by Republican committee members, Biden last week canceled several leases to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, amid other conservation moves in the Alaska wilderness. 

The move “has nothing to do with the price today,” Granholm said. 

Read More: Biden to Cancel Arctic Oil Drilling Rights Sold by Trump

--With assistance from Chunzi Xu and Jennifer A. Dlouhy.

©2023 Bloomberg L.P.