Americans are getting absolutely hammered at the gas pump right now.
Every trip to fill up the tank feels like a gut punch, and people want answers.
And Donald Trump just dropped one bold move that has every driver in America paying attention.
Trump Goes on Offense Over Gas Prices
Gas prices don’t lie. The national retail average hit $4.52 a gallon on Monday, up from $2.98 just before the U.S. and Israel struck Iran on February 28 — a jump of more than 50% in just over two months.
President Trump said in a phone interview with CBS News on Monday morning that he aims to suspend the federal gas tax “for a period of time.” He didn’t hedge. He didn’t float it as a trial balloon. He called it a great idea and said it was happening.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Trump told CBS News. “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.”
Asked by a reporter whether he would suspend the federal gas tax, Trump said, “Yeah.” “I’m going to reduce until the — let me tell you, as soon as this is over with Iran, as soon as it’s over, you’re going to see gasoline and oil drop like a rock,” he added.
And when pressed on exactly how long the suspension would last, Trump kept it simple. He said, “Until it’s appropriate,” and added, “It’s a small percentage, but it’s still money.”
The Numbers Behind the Plan
Suspending the excise taxes — 18.4 cents per gallon on gas and 24.4 cents per gallon on diesel — requires an act of Congress, and pausing it would cost the federal government about half a billion dollars a week.
That’s real money. Revenue raised by the federal gas tax goes toward the Highway Trust Fund to construct and repair roadways, and it also pays for other transit projects. Nobody’s pretending there’s no trade-off here.
Suspending the tax would reduce the current price of regular gas to $4.34 per gallon and diesel to $5.39 per gallon — returning prices to roughly early May levels, when gasoline costs were still about 46% higher than before the Iran war. So it helps, but it doesn’t fix the underlying problem.
Even if the federal gas tax were suspended, gas prices would likely not decrease by the full 18 cents per gallon. The Bipartisan Policy Center estimated that gas would likely fall by 10 to 16 cents per gallon for consumers, while gasoline suppliers would get the rest of the benefit. Worth knowing before anyone gets too excited.
Republicans and Even Some Democrats Are Getting On Board
The president’s comments lit a fire under Capitol Hill fast. U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) said in a Monday post to X that he was “introducing legislation today to suspend the gas tax.”
GOP Representative Anna Paulina Luna of Florida also said she plans to introduce a bill in the House this week to suspend the federal gas tax “in light of Trump’s recent remarks.”
But here’s the part the media won’t make a big deal out of: Democrats introduced legislation in March to suspend the federal gas tax until October, but their proposal had stalled. Representative Chris Pappas (D-NH) responded to Trump’s support by saying in a post to X, “This should have happened months ago.” “Let’s pass it this week,” he said in the post.
That’s a Democrat telling Trump to move faster. Funny how that works when people are paying $4.52 a gallon.
Energy Secretary Wright Had Already Signaled the Move
Energy Secretary Chris Wright told NBC News’ *Meet the Press* on Sunday that the Trump administration is “open to all ideas” to lower the cost of gas, including suspending the federal gas tax.
Asked to clarify whether President Trump is open to suspending the federal gas tax, which stands at about 18 cents a gallon, Wright said, “We’re open to all ideas.”
Wright also made clear that this isn’t the only lever the administration has pulled. The administration has tapped the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and waived the Jones Act to ease fuel shipments at U.S. ports. None of it has been enough on its own, because the real driver of prices is the war.
A dueling U.S. and Iranian blockade at the Strait of Hormuz, where roughly 20% of oil travels through, has been one of the biggest disruptors to the global oil markets. Until that gets resolved, every other tool Washington uses is fighting the tide with a bucket.
States Aren’t Waiting for Washington
Some governors decided they couldn’t sit on their hands waiting for Congress to act. Several states have already taken steps to waive their local fuel taxes, including Georgia, Indiana, and Utah.
And the relief from state-level action can actually be bigger than what the federal suspension would deliver. Because state fuel taxes range from 15 cents to about 60 cents per gallon, state suspensions can provide more meaningful relief than waiving the federal gas tax. GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan noted that “Indiana is seeing huge gas price drops thanks to the state waiving the use tax and excise tax — motorists getting a nearly 60c/gal discount with prices falling below $4 at some stations.”
Indiana Governor Mike Braun suspended his state’s 36-cent excise tax on gas for 30 days, while Georgia has been doing without its gas tax since March after Governor Brian Kemp suspended its 33-cent excise tax for 60 days.
What This Really Means for Everyday Americans
The Iran war is not going away tomorrow. Analysts say prices are likely to remain high with Iran blocking access to the Strait of Hormuz. Trump knows that, which is why he’s not waiting around for a peace deal to give drivers some breathing room.
The gas tax suspension won’t make $4.52 feel like $2.98 again. But 15 or 16 cents a gallon off the top is real money for a family filling up two vehicles every week. You do that 50 times a year, you’re talking about hundreds of dollars back in your pocket.
Trump also shot down the idea of a government bailout for the airlines, who are getting crushed by jet fuel costs. He rejected the idea of taxpaers picking up the tab for U.S. air carriers as they contend with jet fuel costs that have more than doubled since the start of the war with Iran. A bailout proposal “hasn’t really been presented,” he said. “The airlines are doing not badly.”
Budget carrier Spirit Airlines shut down earlier this month as it faced surging pressure from rising jet fuel prices. Analysts say ticket prices for all airlines will increase this summer as those costs increase. So if you’ve got summer travel plans, book early.
The bigger picture here is that Trump is taking heat for gas prices even though the root cause is a war that Iran started by blocking one of the world’s most critical oil shipping lanes. Eight in ten Americans say gas prices are straining their budgets, and 63 percent of Americans say they blame Trump “a great deal” or “a good amount” for those higher gas prices — including more than 6 in 10 independents and nearly one-third of Republicans.
That last number is the one that stings. When your own voters are pointing fingers, you move. And Trump moved.
The gas tax suspension still needs Congress to get it done. Both the House and Senate are controlled by Republicans. With Democrats already on record supporting the idea and Republicans now lining up behind the President, there’s a real shot this gets across the finish line. The question is whether Washington, D.C. can move fast enough to matter before the summer driving season hits full stride.
Sources: CBS News, NBC News, AAA, Bipartisan Policy Center, GasBuddy, Washington Examiner, Fox News