Trump, congressional Republicans float suspending federal gas tax amid Iran war
Voters are souring on Trump's economy ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, and high gas prices are only adding to consumer discontent.
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A sign displays the prices of unleaded, premium, and diesel gasoline at a Speedway gas station in Columbus, Ohio, US, on Monday, May 11, 2026.
Brian Kaiser | Bloomberg | Getty Images
President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans are proposing suspending the federal gas tax as prices at the pump continue to soar ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Gasoline and oil prices have jumped since the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran broke out more than two months ago. Iran has largely brought the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries a fifth of the world's oil, to a standstill since the first strikes began.
Trump said in the Oval Office on Monday that he would "reduce" the tax, shortly after saying in an interview with CBS News that he wants to pause the tax "for a period of time."
"I think it's a great idea," he said in the CBS interview. "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."
Trump cannot declare a gas tax holiday alone, since Congress has sole authority over taxation. But several Republican lawmakers on Monday floated suspending the gas tax, which clocks in at 18.4 cents per gallon, the same amount it's been since 1993.
Federal gas taxes primarily pay for federal highway construction and maintenance and also fund some public transit.
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Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., on Monday said he would immediately introduce a bill to suspend the federal gas tax in a post to X. And Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., said she would be "introducing a bill in the House to suspend the federal gas tax in light of Trump's recent remarks."
"American families need this relief on gas prices. My office will be working directly with President Trump to ensure we deliver this win for the American people," she said in a social media post.
Trump and Republicans are scrambling to get prices down ahead of the November midterms that threaten to flip control of Congress to the Democrats. A recent poll from The Economist and YouGov, found only 25% of those polled approved of the job Trump is doing on inflation and prices, while 69% disapproved.
Gas prices in the U.S. currently sit at about $4.52 per gallon, according to AAA's national average, approaching the highest recorded average price of $5.02 in June 2022. Slashing the federal gas tax would bring that down to roughly $4.34 per gallon.
