The administration confirmed Wednesday it will ease some sanctions on oil and gas from the South American nation, as well as gold. The White House said the easing came in return for President Nicolás Maduro allowing international monitors of elections.

Senate Energy Committee Chair Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who has frequently criticized the administration on energy issues, said Thursday that “on the heels of announcing the smallest five-year offshore oil and gas leasing plan in decades, this administration is turning to Venezuela … one of the world’s dirtiest energy producers and an oppressor of its own people.” 

Manchin’s Republican counterpart on the committee, Ranking Member John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), meanwhile, told The Hill that the decision “shows once again” that President Biden “would rather go with dictators on a bended knee than … allow us to use American energy.”

U.S. oil production recently hit an all-time high, according to an analysis from The Associated Press.

Read more in a full report at TheHill.com.

Welcome to The Hill’s Energy & Environment newsletter, we’re Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains.