Joe Biden had lofty economic ambitions when he was campaigning for president two years ago.
His policies are being driven by prices at the pump because of the upcoming mid-term elections.
The White House made its latest announcement on the issue on Wednesday, promising to extend releases of oil from national stockpiles through December in order to lower the price of motor fuel. There could be more releases this winter.
Since he took office, the price of gasoline has gone up.
The president has made the issue of inflation a priority with many voters.
The lengths Mr Biden has gone to address it remain remarkable since it's a matter of his own choosing.
The White House has staked its credibility on being able to lower energy prices. The reality is that presidents do not control gas prices. They don't have and they won't.
The rise and fall of gasoline prices is a lesson that Mr Biden will have learned over the course of his career in Washington.
When the US faced an oil embargo in 1973, he was a congressman. The stand-off caused shortages and long lines at gas stations and ended the political careers of two presidents.
Mr Biden denied that his actions were politically motivated, blaming high prices on energy firms.
It's still difficult for a lot of families. The price of gas is affected by the choices of other countries. He pledged to everything in his power to bring prices down.
The steps he has taken so far, such as releasing oil from national inventories and ordering investigations of companies, are not new.
In fact missions to the Gulf and calls to tap the nation's emergency oil reserves as prices rise - as Bill Clinton did in 2000, George W Bush did in 2005 and Barack Obama did in 2011) have been part of the Washington playbook for decades.
Since last year, Mr Biden has released over 200 million barrels of oil, which has sent stores in the reserves to their lowest levels in decades.
Mr Biden's decision to use the reserves to shape the market is a major shift.
He says that Mr Biden has pushed for other interventions, like capping the price of Russian oil, to try to reduce the money flowing to Putin. It becomes more common after you take that step.
Mr Biden's foreign policy has been affected by concerns about gas prices.
After the war in Ukraine, the US imposed financial sanctions on Russia to try to keep the price of gas down.
The White House said it was reviewing the relationship with Saudi Arabia, in response to the decision by the Opec plus group of producers to reduce their oil production.
Jeff Colgan is the director of the Climate Solutions Lab at Brown University.
It's not clear if Mr Biden's actions will have a big effect on the domestic politics of the mid-term elections.
While gasoline prices have dropped back since June, they are still 15% higher than they were a year ago.
The rising costs have eaten into the family's budget according to Brooke Riske. She doesn't blame the president for the spike but she does blame him for not having a solution.
I don't think he has the ability to manage the country and I don't think he's doing a good job, that's why I'm voting for someone else.
The fall in prices was trumpeted by the White House in speeches and on social media.
17 to 42 cents of the decline could be attributed to the reserve releases by the US and others.
Mr Biden is playing politics with emergency stockpiles while neglecting policy changes that would unleash US oil and gas companies, according to Republicans.
His dismal approval rating is not a reason to continue raiding our nation's oil reserves.
The barrels were not added to by the announcement on Wednesday. A full day of consumption would not be covered by the 15 million barrels.
The US has ample reserves in the event of an emergency since domestic production has increased since the 1970s, according to analysts.
That doesn't mean the releases can go on forever.
Since Mr Biden is under pressure from his core supporters to deliver on his promises to wean the US off fossil fuels, he has few levers to pull.
Progressives have reservations about increasing oil and gas production in the US despite the Biden administration's desire for lower gasoline prices. It is difficult to reconcile those two.
The administration is in negotiations with Iran and officials are reportedly exploring lifting sanctions on oil-rich Venezuela, but analysts said it's unclear how much that country would be able to supply.
The White House has talked about limiting US energy exports, but they are opposed by American energy firms.
Their output has increased, but not as much as expected, and instead of investing in projects with uncertain long-term demand, they prefer to enjoy fatter profits.
The vice president said companies should use their profits to increase output. He said that the US would buy oil to fill the reserves for $70 a gallon.
Your shareholders will do very well, you still make a significant profit. The American people get a break at the pump as well. We can build a clean energy economy and strengthen our energy security at the same time.
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