Biden didn’t know he had signed the natural gas export moratorium, Johnson said

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., on Friday recounted a meeting with President Biden from early last year when the president seemed to forget that he had signed an executive order to stop the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Johnson first mentioned this story to Bari Weiss on an episode of his “Honestly” podcast for The Free Press after he said that “from his perspective” on his dealings with Biden, the president “has been out of power for a long time. .” Johnson’s story was first reported by the Wall Street Journal in June, although the newspaper’s report relied on sources unknown at the time.

When Weiss asked Johnson to add to his observations, the speaker began his story about how Biden’s staff continued to clean up his efforts to arrange a meeting with the president in January 2024 amid “great national anxiety” that Johnson said he “lost sleep over.”

Johnson said Biden’s staff finally gave in after some pressure from the media and invited him to the Oval Office to meet with the president. Johnson said the meeting did not start as expected.

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“I come and I see that it’s actually a cover-up because it’s not just me and the president,” said Johnson. “And it’s Kamala Harris, Chuck Schumer, Hakeem, you know, the CIA Director.”

Johnson said the group began “hot-boxing” him over Ukraine funding when Biden asked if he could get a room with him, a request Johnson said left the president’s staff visibly worried.

When Biden and Johnson were alone in the Oval Office, the speaker asked the president about his stance on LNG shipments.

“I can’t answer this to my captors in Louisiana,” Johnson recalled telling Biden. “Sir, why did you temporarily suspend LNG shipments to Europe? Liquefied natural gas is in high demand by our allies. Why would you do that? Because you understand that we just talked about Ukraine, you understand that you are fueling Vladimir Putin’s war machine, because they have to get their fuel from him.”

President Joe Biden attended the Department of Defense Farewell Ceremony at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall on Jan. 16, 2025, in Arlington, Virginia. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Johnson recounts how a stunned Biden responded: “I didn’t do that.”

Biden initiated a freeze on new LNG export permits through January 2024, a move widely criticized by the oil community and bipartisan lawmakers in the House.

Johnson said that when he reminded the president of the executive order he had signed a few weeks ago, Biden denied that what he signed was a temporary stop on LNG.

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Johnson said he disagreed that a temporary suspension would cause serious damage to our economy, national security, and even suggested that the president’s secretary print a copy of the order so they can read it together.

“He really didn’t know what he was signing,” Johnson said. “And I walked out of that meeting in fear and disgust because I thought, ‘We’re in big trouble—who’s running the country?’ Like, I don’t know who put the paper in front of him, but he didn’t know.”

Biden’s LNG break threatens nearly 1 million jobs over the next two decades if the cap remains in place, according to a study by the National Association of Manufacturers, which Fox News Digital previously reported.

An export ban would cost US GDP between $122.5 billion and $215.7 billion in 2044, and between $26.9 billion and $47.7 billion in tax and royalty revenue for federal, state and local governments could be at risk in 2044 if the ban continues. , the study found.

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President-elect Trump, however, reportedly “plans to get tough on the issue” of LNG exports when he takes office, sources told Reuters in November.

Fox News Digital’s Aubrie Spady and Eric Revell contributed to this report.