If the US no longer needs Saudi oil, does it need Saudi Arabia?

The relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia is ... complicated. For decades, the US has depended on the Saudis for crude oil exports and the Saudis have depended on the US for military protection. But US shale oil growth has changed all that.

On this week’s Capitol Crude, Ellen Wald talks about the state of US-Saudi relations, how that relationship may change further if there is a Democrat in the White House, and what low oil prices are doing to Saudi Aramco shares and the kingdom’s 2030 vision.

Wald is president of Transversal Consulting, a senior fellow with the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center and author of the book "Saudi, Inc."