Oil billionaire says Biden’s 'failed policies on energy are not working'

Continental Resources Chairman and founder Harold Hamm detailed on Monday what he believes is behind the record prices Americans are facing at the pump, arguing that the Biden administration’s "failed policies on energy are not working."

Speaking on "Mornings with Maria" he went on to argue that the administration does not care about "what the effect is on America" and have still been "doubling down" on their energy policies amid soaring oil and gas prices. 

The national average gas price has been hitting record highs and is expected to continue rising as the energy supply crunch in the U.S. rages on.

The average price for a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. rose to a new record Monday to $4.48, according to AAA. The price on Sunday was $4.47. 

Monday’s average was 15 cents higher than the week before, 40 cents higher than the month before and $1.43 higher compared to the same time last year. 

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Some states with higher-than-average prices include California at $5.98 a gallon, and Hawaii at $5.31.

The price comes as the European Union edges toward oil sanctions on Russia as the war in Ukraine continues. It also comes amid record-high inflation, with the consumer price index reaching 8.3% in April, hovering near March's 40-year high.

Hamm told host Maria Bartiromo that he was in Washington, D.C. last week and "there is no sign from their leadership that they intend to do anything different than what he [President Biden] stated repeatedly."

In a series of orders aimed at combating climate change, President Biden cancelled the Keystone XL oil pipeline project on his first day in office and temporarily suspended the issuance of oil and gas permits on federal lands and waters. 

The administration resumed the new leasing last month following court challenges against the ban. The administration is appealing a ruling in which Judge James Cain, a Trump appointee, struck down the ban. 

On Monday morning, benchmark U.S. crude gained $1.64 to $112.13 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 93 cents to $112.48 a barrel. 

Oil prices peaked above $130 per barrel in March due to anxiety about the disruption of supplies from Russia, the world's No. 2 exporter.

Hamm stressed that the Biden administration needs to "get rid" of their "failed" energy policies, but instead, have been "doubling down" as energy prices continue to soar. 

"In 16 months we’ve gone from an era of abundance in this country to an area of scarcity," he argued. "We are right back to where Jimmy Carter was in the late 70s." 

He slammed Biden’s energy policies as "ridiculous" and argued that "there is no reason in the world for it." 

Hamm said that the Biden administration has "not done anything except pile on more regulations and a more burdensome situation for the industry." 

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The White House has blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for the record-high gas prices in the U.S., even coining the surge as the "#PutinPriceHike" and vowing that President Biden will do everything he can to shield Americans from "pain at the pump."

Biden, last month, announced that the Environmental Protection Agency will allow the sale of E15 gasoline – gasoline that uses a 15% ethanol blend – across the country this summer. In addition, Biden has moved to release 1 million barrels of oil per day from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for the next 6 months. The president is also calling on Congress to make companies pay fees on idled oil wells and non-producing acres of federal lands, aiming to incentivize new production.

Yet critics have claimed that Biden's actions on energy policy have created a "supply problem" in the market.

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FOX Business’ Tyler O’Neil contributed to this report.