Vulnerable Dem senator flip-flops on supplying energy to China in middle of reelection campaign [Video]

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, who is locked in a toss-up re-election bid, expressed concern this week about U.S. energy exports benefiting China despite voting against a bill in 2022 that would have prohibited the sale of emergency oil reserves to China.

Brown remarked on Tuesday that he supported President Biden’s recent actions pausing permitting for liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects, saying those projects could ultimately benefit China. The comments separate Brown from other more moderate Democrats, including Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Pennsylvania senators Bob Casey and John Fetterman, who opposed the actions.

“My focus is on protecting Ohio workers in the natural gas industry and manufacturers and lowering costs for all Ohioans, and I continue to review this rule and the impact it would have on achieving those goals,” Brown told Politico. “I have concerns around letting American liquid natural gas fuel China’s state-sponsored industries that consistently try to undermine American production.”

According to the most recent federal data, just 6.7% of U.S. …