Supply and Demand
During the "lockdown" demand was very low and so were prices. Back in May 2020 a barrel of oil was trading at under $10. So, the oil companies both foreign and domestic cut way back on production. Then in 2021 the lockdown ended, the vaccine was available and people started going back to work, traveling and getting back to normal lives. But the oil companies didn't ramp up production enough to cover the increased demand. Higher demand, limited supply resulted in higher prices.
The oil companies are making up for lost revenues and profits by limiting supply. "U.S. crude oil production is expected to fall by 160,000 barrels per day in 2021..."
Elected officials have very little influence over the price of any commodity especially oil and refined fuels. Today's higher prices are the result of the oil industries profit taking not any political legislation. "The oil giant (Chevron) announced a $3.3 billion adjusted profit in Q2, compared with a $2.9 billion loss in the second quarter of 2020.
Here's a short article from Reuters that may shed some light.
https://www.reuters.com/business/ene...0million%20bpd.
We all hate higher prices, but lets put the blame where it belongs.