Gas prices over $6 a gallon are displayed at a Mobil station in Los Angeles on May 4.
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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
President Trump says he wants the gas tax to be temporarily suspended as the war in Iran extends into its 11th week and keeps oil prices elevated.
He told CBS News on Monday morning he wants the tax suspended “for a period of time” and would want it reintroduced “when gas goes down.”
Asked by reporters in the Oval Office later in the day how long the gas tax would be suspended, the president responded, “Till it’s appropriate.”
Suspending the gas tax would require an act of Congress. Currently, the tax is 18.4 cents per gallon of gas and 24.4 cents per gallon of diesel.
Regular gasoline cost just under $3 per gallon on average before the U.S. bombed Iran. Now, the average cost per gallon has soared by more than 50% to $4.52, according to AAA.
A cost reduction of 18.4 cents would lower that average gasoline cost by around 4%. It would bring the cost of a 12-gallon fill-up down by $2.21.
Blockades imposed during the Iran war have stalled the passage of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, causing gas prices to spike. Around one-fifth of the world’s crude oil usually travels through that strait.
The potential suspension of the gas tax is a tacit acknowledgment from the White House of the toll that high gas prices have taken on American consumers. Eight in 10 Americans say gas prices are straining their budgets, including overwhelming majorities of Democrats, independents and Republicans alike, according to the latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll.
In addition, 63% of Americans say they blame Trump “a great deal” or “a good amount” for those higher gas prices. That includes more than 6 in 10 independents and nearly one-third of Republicans.
