President Donald Trump vowed on Monday to “look at” a potential embargo on Saudi oil shipments to the United States as record low oil prices turned negative for the first time ever.

Trump indicated he was open to the idea at the daily White House briefing when a reporter asked him to respond to the proposal issued by some Republican lawmakers who represent hard-hit shale oil-producing states, where the global oversupply of oil coupled with decreased demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic have drastically accelerated layoffs.

“Right now, the highest number of Saudi oil tankers in years is on its way to our shores,” tweeted Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D. “Given today’s crude oil prices, I call on President [Trump] to prevent them from unloading in the United States.”

Why it matters:  The new pressure to ban the oil from some within his own party indicates that the Trump-brokered Saudi-Russian agreement to end the price war earlier this month has not been enough to placate Republicans who had previously formed the last line of defense for the embattled kingdom on Capitol Hill. (OPEC and Russia had committed to cutting 9.7 million barrels of oil per day under the deal.)