Marco Rubio Under Fire For Florida Gasoline Shortage

Things are heating up in Florida over the widespread gasoline shortages plaguing the state, with Republicans calling out other Republicans for not finding a resolution to the problem already.

In a video clip that Marco Rubio shared on Twitter on Sunday, the Senator lashed out at the people that had failed to resolve the gasoline shortages.

"FOUR DAYS and they still can't figure out how to get gasoline to South #Florida #GasShortage" Rubio tweeted, leaving most readers to assume the "they" in that sentence was referring to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

"What's happening right now in Miami and in Fort Lauderdale with gasoline is crazy," Senator Rubio explained. "You can't find gasoline anywhere."

Rubio cautioned against blaming the gasoline shortages on "consumer panic."

By Thursday afternoon, gasoline shortages in southeast Florida headed towards easing, but 49.4% of gas stations in Miami and Fort Lauderdale were still without gas, according to GasBuddy's head of petroleum analysis Patrick DeHaan. That's an improvement from the 60.6% that were out earlier today. In West Palm Beach/Fort Pierce, 29.1% of stations were still without gasoline.

"There is gasoline," Patrick DeHaan said as the panic took hold of the Florida area, adding that most of the problems were not born out of a physical shortage. A lot of this stems from record-setting rainfall that the area recently saw, exacerbated by the huge increase in population that the area saw that places a burden on supply chains.

Most of the gasoline is sitting in storage facilities. But even a small disruption in the flow of fuel can create major headaches for the industry as thousands of tankers struggle to get gasoline from the ports to the stations, De Haan explained—amid a trucker shortage, no less.

Rubio came under fire for his video clip that chastised those who had as of yet failed to fix the gasoline shortages, with some pointing out that Rubio should be considered one of the people responsible for finding a solution to the problem. 

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

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