President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday that he would support temporarily suspending the federal gas tax “until it’s appropriate.”
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Suspending the federal gas tax, which currently sits at about 18 cents per gallon, would require congressional approval.
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.
Asked how long he would suspend the tax for, Trump said “until it’s appropriate.”
“It’s a small percentage, but it’s still money,” he added.
Earlier Monday, Trump told CBS News in a phone interview that he thought suspending the gas tax was “a great idea.”
“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,” he added.
Trump’s remarks came a day after Energy Secretary Chris Wright said during an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that Trump was “open to all ideas” to cut the cost of gas, including potentially pausing the federal gas tax.
Democrats introduced legislation in March to suspend the federal gas tax until October, but their proposal has stalled. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said in a Monday post to X that he was “introducing legislation today to suspend the gas tax.” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., also said in a post to X that she would introduce a House bill “to suspend the federal gas tax in light of Trump’s recent remarks.” It was not immediately clear whether or how their legislation would differ from what the Democrats proposed.
“American families need this relief on gas prices,” she wrote. “My office will be working directly with President Trump to ensure we deliver this win for the American people.”
Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., and Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., spearheaded the March bill. Pappas responded to Trump’s support for suspending the gas tax by saying in a post to X, “This should have happened months ago.”
“Let’s pass it this week,” he said in the post.
The federal gas tax helps fund the Highway Trust Fund, which supports highway and mass transit programs, according to the Tax Policy Center. A five-month suspension of the tax could ultimately cost the government billions in revenue used for the fund this fiscal year, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.
But 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.
Gas prices have risen more than 50% since the start of the war in Iran. On Monday, the national gas price average stood at $4.52 per gallon.
