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Secretary Wright on Varney & Co.: Dyed-Diesel Order, Diesel Prices and the Boulder Climate Lawsuit

October 6, 2026 · U.S. Department of Energy · 0:05:10

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

Energy Secretary Chris Wright joined Fox Business’s Varney & Co. on October 6, 2026, to discuss a new presidential order allowing truck drivers to temporarily refuel with red-dyed diesel. Asked when truckers could use the tax-exempt fuel on highways, Wright said the order was signed the previous day and that Treasury and the Department of War had five days to work out the specific authorizations, with the change taking effect Saturday, as he stated it. He attributed the diesel shortage to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, China’s decision to stop exporting diesel, and reduced refined-product flows from the Middle East.

Responding to a Goldman Sachs forecast that diesel prices would stay high through 2027, Wright said the market is tight because Russian and Chinese exports are off the market, that Middle East exports would return, and that U.S. refineries are running at their highest levels. He said diesel prices had already fallen 20 to 25 cents from their peak two weeks earlier and predicted a gradual decline over the coming weeks and months, as he stated it. On oil near $90 a barrel despite Gulf flows nearing pre-war levels, he said the region remains a conflict zone, while arguing average oil prices under the Trump administration are far lower than under the Biden administration.

Wright also addressed the Supreme Court’s consideration of whether Boulder, Colorado can sue oil companies for climate damages. He called a Colorado win catastrophic and the start of a flood of lawsuits, characterizing the case as the next wave of a 17-year Democratic effort to raise hydrocarbon prices. He said gasoline costs about 50 cents more and electricity 40 to 50 percent more in Democrat-run states, as he stated it, and pointed to a specialized steel plant behind him producing steel for electrical transformers, which he said the administration is reviving to raise production 25 percent so transformers can be made domestically.

Why it matters

Wright’s appearance ties together three live administration energy fights — emergency diesel relief for truckers, the price outlook the administration is publicly committing to, and the Boulder climate-liability case that could reshape energy litigation nationwide.

Scoreboard watch

Wright’s dated claims — the dyed-diesel authorization taking effect that Saturday, diesel prices declining gradually over the following weeks and months, and the steel plant’s production rising 25 percent — are checkable against the record.

Sources: U.S. Department of Energy, “Secretary Wright Joins Fox Business’ Varney & Co – October 6, 2026”, 2026-10-06 (official upload, embedded above; published 2026-10-06). Transcript via Supadata (private research store, paraphrased and attributed, not republished). All figures and characterizations as stated by the speakers.