Trump says he intends to suspend gas tax ‘for a period of time’ as pump prices soar in US

President Donald Trump said on Monday that he intends to suspend the federal gas tax “for a period of time” and phase it back in “when gas goes down.” The president made the comments in a phone interview with CBS News. Suspending the excise taxes—18.4 cents per gallon on gas and 24.4 cents a gallon on diesel—requires an act of Congress.

However, Congress has so far shown little interest in suspending it to bring down costs. Gas prices have soared over 50% since the start of the Iran war on Feb. 28, hitting a high of over $4.52 on Sunday, according to AAA.

“And yep, 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,” Trump said.

“But no, we’re gonna, we’ll, we’ll be doing something on that. Yes.”

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Analysts say the prices are likely to remain high with Iran blocking access to the Strait of Hormuz.

Referring to Iran’s latest response to the US peace proposal, President Trump said it made concessions on its nuclear programme, but “not enough”, and called it a “very stupid proposal.”

Responding to a query on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s comment that “nobody had perfect foresight” on the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said, “I did. I knew they closed it. That’s the only weapon they have.”

He said the US military could have opened the Strait of Hormuz under Project Freedom and guided ships through and added that it could resume and would be “much more severe.”

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US Energy Secretary Chris Wright had told NBC News on Sunday that the Trump administration is “open to all ideas” to lower the cost of gas, including suspending the federal gas tax.

Wright said, “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.”

Asked whether President Donald Trump is open to suspending the federal gas tax, which stands at about 18 cents a gallon, Wright said, “We’re open to all ideas.”

“Everything has trade-offs,” he added.

“But I will say, the United States is in a tremendous position,” he added, pointing to US production of oil and natural gas.