WASHINGTON — President Trump called Monday for the temporary suspension of the federal gas tax to give Americans relief at the pump amid surging oil prices caused by the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Trump told CBS News during a brief phone 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.”
Gasoline has been taxed at 18.4 cents per gallon since the 1990s to generate up to $40 billion in annual revenue for the Highway Trust Fund, which provides support for road maintenance and construction, among other projects.
The average price of a gallon of regular gas was $4.52 as of Monday, according to data from AAA, up nearly 40 cents from this time last month.
Temporarily suspending the federal gas tax will likely require congressional approval. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced on social media that he would introduce legislation to that effect when Congress reconvenes later today.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright expressed openness to the proposal over the weekend.
“We’re open to all ideas, everything has tradeoffs,” Wright told NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday. “All ideas to lower prices for American consumers and American businesses.”
When the war in Iran broke out, the US partnered with allies to release some 172 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to stabilize markets.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration began “Project Freedom” to militarily escort private vessels through the strait. But that plan was quickly put on pause due to supposed progress in talks with Iran, as well as protests from US partners in the region — most notably Saudi Arabia.
“That’s the only weapon they have,” Trump told CBS News, referring to Iran’s campaign to shut down the Strait of Hormuz. “It’s not much of a weapon anymore, but that’s the only weapon they have.”
“We would have had it open, except that I did the favors for certain countries that asked me not to do it, we would have had it open under Operation Freedom, but we can easily go back to that.”
