'Gas tax holiday?' Trump backs off pledge to suspend federal gas tax
Kinsey Crowley- Trump once said he would reduce the federal gas tax until the appropriate time.
- A gas tax holiday would require an act of Congress.
- Trump was asked about the gas tax holiday at the May 27 Cabinet meeting. He appeared confused and noncomittal.
President Donald Trump appeared confused about gas tax holiday legislation, saying "we'll see what happens."
Trump was answering questions May 27 at a Cabinet meeting at the White House after briefly planning to host it at Camp David. The president and others gave updates on the war in Iran, the economy and the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool renovations. Trump was asked if he expected Congress to pass a federal gas tax holiday.
"A gas tax holiday?" Trump said after a moment. The reporter clarified she meant suspending the federal gas tax. "Well, it's something we might talk about. We'll see what happens over the next week or two weeks."
The response was more tepid than his earlier comments on the legislation. He told CBS News on May 11, "Yup, we're going to take off the gas tax for a period of time." Later that day, he said at an Oval Office event that he was going to reduce the gasoline tax until an "appropriate" time.
Gas tax holiday requires congressional action
Suspending the 18.4-cent-a-gallon gasoline tax would require an act of Congress. Lawmakers from both parties have introduced legislation for it, though it still faces an uphill battle.
The war in Iran has disrupted oil supply chains at the Strait of Hormuz and driven up the price of fuel. Trump boasted about low gas prices before the war, but now a Reuters/Ipsos poll May 8-11 found 63% of Americans said the financial situation in their household has worsened because of the cost of gas, up from 55% in a mid-March poll. According to AAA, the average price of a gallon of regular gas is $4.459 as of May 27, compared with $3.174 at this time last year. In a midterm year, both parties are trying to address voters' affordability concerns.
Despite potential bipartisan support for a federal gas tax holiday, Republican leadership has not signaled overwhelming enthusiasm for the idea. Instead, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune have said they would prefer to see eased tensions over the Strait of Hormuz.
The gas tax holiday, if passed, would have only a small impact on the price at the pump, according to Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.
Watch the Cabinet meeting
Contributing: Zachary Schermele and Keith Laing
Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at [email protected]. Follow her onX (Twitter),Threads,Bluesky andTikTok.