Is the White House ready to make gas concessions to help Ukraine?

Reuters sources in the White House said that US officials are ready to end the pause announced by President Biden on the approval of liquefied natural gas exports to get the aid package for Ukraine approved in Congress. At the same time, they want to wait for a full review of the proposal before making any decisions.

After protests by activists concerned about the industry’s impact on climate change, Biden reportedly suspended approval of current and future LNG export applications in late January.

House Speaker Mike Johnson suggested on March 31 that the president’s lifting the pause on LNG export approvals could make it easier for his party to support a new aid package for Ukraine. Some Democrats in the US Senate from gas-producing states are also concerned about the pause on gas exports.

However, a White House spokesman said that Reuters’ reporting was “not true” and reiterated the administration’s public position that the president wants Republicans to pass a bipartisan $95B national security deal that has already passed the US Senate.