U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) speaks to reporters after a roundtable on rising energy costs on Capitol Hill on March 17, 2026 in Washington, DC.
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The top Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is probing whether the Trump administration adequately planned for the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has roiled energy markets for weeks as the war with Iran drags on.
Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., in a letter dated Tuesday to Energy Secretary Chris Wright, shared exclusively with CNBC, demanded answers to a series of questions about how the administration prepared for the closure of the strait ahead of launching the war with Iran. The Islamic Republic has effectively closed the strait since the beginning of the conflict.
“I am deeply concerned that the President’s decision to wage a reckless war on Iran will wreak havoc on energy markets for the foreseeable future — driving up energy costs for Americans across the country and causing global economic turmoil,” Heinrich said in the letter. “The Administration dismissed or failed to fully appreciate the impact the closure of the Strait would have on domestic energy and household costs when it rushed into war with Iran and lacks a coherent strategy to end the war and stabilize domestic and global energy markets.”
Iran’s stranglehold on traffic in the strait has been one of the administration’s biggest liabilities amid the war effort. Earlier this week, the U.S. began blockading Iranian ports in an attempt to pressure the Iranians to allow tankers to pass through. Meanwhile, gas prices remain over $4 a gallon on average in the U.S. just months before the 2026 midterm elections, which could threaten President Donald Trump and the Republican Party’s grip on power.
Heinrich asked Wright to provide him with any reports or assessments the department may have prepared to analyze the impacts of the war and closure of the strait on domestic and international energy markets, both before the war broke out and during its execution. He also asked whether the department furnished the White House or any Cabinet-level agency or council with any such reports.
Heinrich also asked for any assessments related to damage to Persian Gulf energy infrastructure, and probed the origin of a controversial X post from Wright on March 10 that erroneously claimed the U.S. had escorted a tanker through the Strait of Hormuz.
“Explain why you posted that the U.S. Navy ‘successfully escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz’ and the genesis of the information in the post,” Heinrich wrote.
He also asked whether the department did any analysis around the impact of Trump’s blockade, and whether the department is doing any additional analysis regarding threats that the Iran-backed Houthis may seek to close the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, another key energy choke point that connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea.
