Trump Endorses Feeble Way to Lower Gas Prices

Fuel prices at a Shell gas station in San Diego, California, on May 4.
Photo: Ariana Drehsler/Bloomberg/Getty Images

It does not look like the U.S.’s war with Iran, which recently entered its fourth month, is ending anytime soon. Negotiations between the two countries appear increasingly fraught with their delicately reached cease-fire hanging in the balance; on Monday, President Donald Trump described that cease-fire as being on “massive life support.” Consequently there is no end in sight for the domestic crises Trump sparked, when he began the war along with Israel in late February, as Americans are facing persistent sticker shock at the gas pump with prices continuing to tick up closer to a $5 national average.

Now Trump and members of his party are rallying behind a suspension of the federal gas tax as a temporary measure to bring down skyrocketing prices. But even the president isn’t promising much out of this gambit.

In an interview with CBS News on Monday, the president signaled support for a suspension of the gas tax. “I think it’s a great idea,” he said. “Yup, we’re going to take off the gas tax for a period of time, and when gas goes down, we’ll let it phase back in.”

The federal government’s excise tax on gasoline stands at about 18.4 cents per gallon and 24.4 cents per gallon for diesel. The current national average of a regular gallon of gasoline is $4.52 as of Monday, per AAA. Trump acknowledged that a tax suspension wouldn’t result in significant savings for American drivers during an Oval Office event later that day. “It’s a small percentage, but it’s still money,” he told reporters.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright had suggested that the president was open to the idea. During a sit-down with NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Wright was asked whether the Trump administration was in favor of suspending the federal gas tax after states like Georgia and Indiana enacted temporary pauses of their own taxes in light of rising gas costs. “All measures that can be taken to lower the price at the pump and lower the prices for Americans, this administration is in support of. We are constantly looking for different ideas,” Wright said.

The authority to suspend the gas tax ultimately lies with Congress, and there are signs that members of both parties might support the move. Following Trump’s remarks, Republican senator Josh Hawley of Missouri indicated on social media that he plans to introduce legislation to suspend the tax. Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican representative from Florida, announced plans to introduce a similar measure in the House this week. “American families need this relief on gas prices,” she said in a statement.

In March, Democratic senators Mark Kelly of Arizona and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut introduced the Gas Prices Relief Act, which would suspend the tax through October 1, citing rising gas prices stemming from the Iran war that began on February 28. But no action has been taken on the measure since then. “Trump’s war of choice with Iran is driving up gas prices across the country—and Americans shouldn’t have to bear the additional economic burden of Trump’s reckless decision making,” the senators said in a statement announcing the legislation.

Not everyone’s onboard with the idea. Republican senator John Cornyn, who is locked in a tough reelection battle, has said that suspending the gas tax is “a good way to bankrupt the country,” citing how the funds go toward funding transportation projects.

“You have to have some source of money to build our roads and bridges and just eliminating it at this time for the short term pain of increased gas prices, I think is not the best way to approach it,” Cornyn said, per Punchbowl News.

In 2022 President Joe Biden pitched Congress on a similar three-month gas-tax holiday, but it failed to materialize after steep opposition from Republicans. While it remains to be seen if lawmakers will approve of suspending the tax, gas prices are likely to remain elevated until shipping traffic is able to freely traverse the Strait of Hormuz, the key shipping route that has been disrupted since the war began.

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