President Donald Trump told reporters Monday that he would support temporarily suspending the federal gas tax “until it is appropriate.”
Suspending the federal gas tax, which currently stands at about 18 cents per gallon, would require congressional approval.
When asked by a reporter if he would suspend the federal gas tax, Trump replied “yeah.”
“I’m going to cut back until… let me tell you, as soon as this is over with Iran, as soon as this is over, you’ll see gasoline and oil drop like a rock,” he added.
When asked how long he would suspend the tax, Trump said “until it is appropriate.”
“It’s a small percentage, but it’s still money,” he added.
Earlier Monday, Trump told CBS News in a telephone interview, he said he thought suspending the gas tax was “a great idea.”
“We will remove the gas tax for a while, and when the price of fuel goes down, we will let it gradually reappear,” he added.
Trump’s remarks came a day after Energy Secretary Chris Wright said during an interview on “Meet the Press” from NBC News which Trump was “open to all ideas” to reduce the cost of gasoline, including potentially suspending 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 at that he “today introduced a bill to suspend the gas tax.” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., also said in a message about that she would introduce a bill in the House “to suspend the federal gas tax in light of Trump’s recent remarks.” It was not immediately clear if and how their legislation would differ from what Democrats were proposing.
“American families need this relief on gas prices,” she wrote. “My office will work directly with President Trump to ensure we deliver this victory to the American people. »
Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., and Senator Mark KellyD-Ariz., spearheaded the March bill. Pappas responded to Trump’s support for suspending the gas tax by stating: a message to X, “This should have happened months ago.”
“Let’s get through 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 cost the government billions of dollars in revenue used for the fund this fiscal year, according to the ministry. Bipartisan Policy Center.
But even if the federal gas tax were suspended, gas prices probably wouldn’t drop by 18 cents a gallon. THE Bipartisan Policy Center Estimate that gas would likely go down 10 to 16 cents per gallon for consumers, while gasoline suppliers would receive the rest of the profits.
Gas prices have increased by more than 50% since the start of the war in Iran. Monday, the national average gas price was $4.52 per gallon.
