Trump open to temporary federal gas tax suspension as prices soar

President Donald Trump said Monday he wants to suspend the federal gas tax amid soaring prices at the pump.

Trump told CBS News in a phone interview he would like to pause the federal 18.4 cents a gallon tax on gasoline and 24.4 cents a gallon tax on diesel “for a period of time.” However, suspending the federal gas tax would require an act of Congress.

Back in March, Democratic Senators Mark Kelly and Richard Blumenthal introduced legislation to suspend the federal gas tax through Oct. 1.

Following Trump's comments on Monday, Republican Senator Josh Hawley said he would also be introducing legislation to suspend the gas tax.

Trump's comments came one day after U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the Trump administration was "open to all ideas," including a suspension of the gas tax, during an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press."

The president told CBS News reporter Nancy Cordes on Monday that he thinks it's "a great idea" to suspend the federal gas tax.

“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 president said, according to Cordes.

For every gallon of gasoline sold in the U.S., 18.4 cents is federally taxed, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That tax amount has been in place since 1993.

The majority of states impose an additional tax on fuel. The average total sales taxes per gallon, as of July 2024, were 32.61 cents on gasoline and 34.76 cents on diesel. Several states have recently suspended or have considered suspending their taxes to alleviate the price amid high gas prices.

Indiana and Georgia have both temporarily removed their gas taxes in response to the war's impact on prices.

Last Wednesday, Indiana Gov. 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 Gov. Brian Kemp suspended its 33-cent excise tax for 60 days.

Gas prices have surged worldwide since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28. Conflict in the region and a subsequent war led to instability in the region, which is a crucial part of the global oil market.

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.

As of Monday, the national retail average for a gallon of regular gasoline was $4.52, according to AAA. The national retail average for a gallon of gas just before the attack on Iran was $2.98 per gallon as of Feb. 26. That's an increase of more than 50% in just over two months.

When asked during his "Meet the Press" appearance whether gas prices could be back below $3 by the summer travel season, which is roughly six weeks away, Wright sidestepped the answer but initially responded with some optimism.

However, Wright repeatedly stressed the fact that war is unpredictable, and it may take time for global oil markets to stabilize.

When pressed again about a drop at or below $3 or about the possibility prices could rise higher, surpassing even $5 per gallon, Wright said he "can't make predictions about that" and otherwise declined to speculate.

Wright said that “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," but fell short of committing to how that would be enacted.