Secretary General of OPEC, Mohammed Barkindo (R), Russia Energy Minister Alexander Novak (L), Saudi Arabia's Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, Khalid Al-Falih (C) hold a joint press conference during the 173rd Ordinary Meeting of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, Austria on November 30, 2017. Omar Marques | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

Democrats and Republicans don't agree on much these days, but a bipartisan group of lawmakers is finding common cause in legislation that would make life very difficult for the oil producer group OPEC. Legislation that aims to prevent the 14-nation OPEC from coordinating production — and influencing oil prices — is once again advancing on Capitol Hill. On Friday, at least one senior Trump administration official expressed support for the legislation, signaling a potential chip in White House opposition to the measure, which has held firm for the last two decades. On Thursday, the House Judiciary Committee passed the No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act, commonly known as NOPEC, clearing the bill for a vote before the full House of Representatives. The same day, Democrats Patrick Leahy and Amy Klobuchar and Republicans Chuck Grassley and Mike Lee introduced NOPEC legislation in the Senate. The bills would essentially make it illegal for foreign nations to work together to limit fossil fuel supplies and set prices. They would authorize the U.S. Justice Department to sue oil producers for antitrust violations by stripping foreign actors of sovereign immunity protections.

Leahy first introduced a similar bill in 2000, and Congress has revived it several times since then — most recently in the last Congress, where it stalled after getting House Judiciary Committee approval. The full House and Senate passed NOPEC legislation in 2007. The House passed it again in 2008, the same year oil prices hit an all-time high at nearly $150 a barrel. However, the bill languished under threat of veto from former President George W. Bush. Former President Barack Obama also opposed NOPEC, but analysts have speculated the measure could find support in the Trump White House. President Donald Trump repeatedly blamed OPEC on Twitter last year for driving up the price of oil. At the U.N. General Assembly in September, he told world leaders the group was ripping them off. Asked about the NOPEC bill on Friday, a senior Trump administration official told Reuters, "The United States is firmly committed to open, fair, and competitive markets for global energy trade. We do not support market-distorting behavior, including cartels." The White House did not immediately return a request for comment. It is not uncommon for a Trump official to express a view, only to be undercut by another administration member. NOPEC would likely face opposition in some corners of the administration because it would threaten Trump's close relationship with top OPEC producer Saudi Arabia.