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By Hugh Cameron and Anna Commander
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Gas prices have surged to a multi-year high following the U.S. conflict with Iran, putting pressure on President Donald Trump to deliver relief for American drivers.
The White House has framed the spike as part of a response to disruptions in global oil supply, including the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz—a vital shipping route that typically carries about a fifth of the world’s oil.
In response, the administration has said it is exploring a range of options to bring down costs. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Sunday that officials are "open to all ideas," including suspending the 18-cent federal gas tax—a proposal that has also drawn support from some Democrats in Congress.
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Trump went further a day later, telling CBS News he plans to temporarily eliminate the tax.
"Yup, we’re going to take off the gas tax for a period of time," Trump said. "And when gas goes down, we’ll let it phase back in."
Newsweek reached out to the Department of Energy for comment.
Why Are Gas Prices Rising? What To Know About Connection to Iran War
Gas prices have soared since the beginning of the Iran war on February 28, after which Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz and critically limited global oil flows.
Wright declined to comment on how high these could reach before easing, though experts who spoke to Newsweek said there is still room for further increases, and analysts at JPMorgan Chase recently warned that "the risk of $5 gasoline can no longer be dismissed."
On Sunday, Wright refused to predict where gas prices would be by summer, and said the administration was currently focused on employing its "economic leverage" and bringing Tehran to the negotiating table.
During an interview with NBC News in mid-March, Wright was asked whether gas prices could drop below $3 per gallon in time for the busy travel season, responding that there was "a very good chance that’ll be true."
But the administration has since steered clear of optimistic forecasts, with Wright telling Jake Tapper in April that prices dropping below $3 "might not happen till next year."
This came after Trump said prices "could be" lower, "or the same, or maybe a little bit higher" by the midterm elections in November.
What Is the National Average for Gas Prices?
According to data from AAA, the nationwide average price for regular unleaded gasoline stood at $4.52 on Monday, having last week surpassed $4.50 per gallon for the first time since 2022 amid the Russia-Ukraine energy crisis.
California currently boasts the highest prices, with a gallon of regular gas costing drivers $6.16, followed by Washington ($5.76) and Hawaii ($5.65).
While every state has seen increases, several remain under the $4 mark as of Monday, including Oklahoma ($3.95), Mississippi ($3.98) and Arkansas.
What Has the Administration Already Tried?
"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," Wright said on Sunday.
The Energy secretary went on to list several that had already been adopted, including the emergency fuel waiver issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in March—in effect from May 1 through May 20—permitting widespread sales of higher-ethanol gasoline blends like E15.
Wright said that the government had also reached out to refiners, requesting that they "do shorter maintenance work this spring so they can keep pumping out more products."
In March, the Department of Energy announced that the U.S. would join dozens of other countries in releasing supplies from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The Department said the staggered release of 172 million barrels would take around four months to complete. Robert Yawger, an energy futures strategist at Mizuho Financial Group, told Newsweek the impact of this on prices had so far been "minimal at best."
March also saw the administration issue a 60-day waiver on the Jones Act, a law restricting foreign-flagged vessels from transporting energy products between U.S. ports. This waiver was later extended to 90 days and now expires in mid-August. Prior to the announcement, the Center for American Progress estimated that this would cut East Coast gas prices by around three cents per gallon.
Trump has also invoked wartime powers under the Defense Production Act (DPA) of 1950 to expedite domestic oil and gas development. Doing so allows the government to provide financial support and other incentives for explorers, producers and developers of large-scale energy projects.
Three Ways Trump Could Still Bring Down Gas Prices
Despite these efforts, prices continue to rise, prompting the administration to explore other avenues to either boost domestic supply or manually tame the rising costs.
1. Gas Tax Suspension
On Sunday, Wright said that the administration would consider suspending the federal gas tax, a step several states, including Georgia, Indiana and Utah, have already taken.
Last week, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear unveiled an emergency executive order lowering the state’s gas tax by 10 cents, a change which took effect Monday.
In March, Congressional Democrats introduced a bill calling for the temporary suspension of the tax—18.4 cents per gallon for gas and 24.4 cents for diesel—and said this would "deliver economic relief to Americans across the country."
"Eliminating the Federal Gas tax would help, cutting roughly 18 cents per gallon out of the price of a gallon of gasoline," said Yawger. However, he said this relief would be swiftly offset as supply constraints continue to push prices up by several cents each week.
"Motorists would not perceive much benefit from a suspension in the small federal excise tax on fuels, since its removal would only briefly slow and not reverse the upward trend," Bob McNally, the founder and president of the consulting firm Rapidan Energy Group, told Newsweek.
Economist and international trade expert Willy C. Shih, a professor at Harvard Business School, told Newsweek similarly that drivers "would hardly notice" the move if oil prices continue on their current trajectory, and that this would also "blow up the Highway Trust Fund," which is financed by the tax and provides funding to states for roads and infrastructure.
On Monday, Trump told CBS News that he planned to implement this change temporarily, which would likely require congressional approval, calling it "a great idea."
2. An Export Ban
The U.S. ships millions of barrels of oil abroad each day, and these exports have soared to record levels since the onset of the conflict, which is hitting Asian and European markets especially hard.
However, some have suggested that the U.S. hold on to its supplies at the expense of international customers.
"Why would we be sending our oil overseas when Americans are getting fleeced at the pump?" said Democratic Representative Ro Khanna, who has introduced legislation calling for a ban on the export of gasoline "during periods of high gasoline prices."
Experts say a ban on exports would carry a host of enduring economic and political consequences for the U.S.
"As the world’s largest exporter of petroleum products and a major crude exporter, the United States plays a central role in balancing global markets," read a March report from Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy. "Limiting exports would exacerbate fuel supply shortages abroad—particularly in Europe and Latin America—and could drive global prices higher, feeding back into U.S. fuel costs."
Officials have said they are not considering this policy, which Yawger told Newsweek would face pushback from the oil industry and which America’s allies "would scream about, considering the U.S. created the conditions that have led to high prices."
Others argue that limiting overseas exports would do little to lower prices at home, given the worldwide ripple effects of supply shocks and the fact that American refiners are already operating near their limits.
"A supply disruption anywhere increases prices everywhere," Clayton Seigle, a senior fellow in the Energy Security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told USA Today.
3. Drilling Under Military Bases
According to a recent Bloomberg report, citing an anonymous source familiar with the plans, the Trump administration is analyzing U.S. bases and Defense Department sites for untapped energy resources.
A 2025 study by the U.S. Geological Survey found that around 29 billion barrels of oil sit beneath federally managed public lands, including those administered by the Defense Department and several other departments, which the agency said could "supply all of the nation’s needs for four years at the current rate of consumption."
Wright previously pointed to these lands as a potential source of oil amid the ongoing crisis.
"There's other states where we have military bases or facilities that are in the middle of oil fields, but there's no development under those resources," he said at an April event in D.C. "That's crazy. It's right there."
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When Will Gas Prices Come Down?
Beyond an end to the conflict itself, experts are in broad agreement that the remaining options would either have little material impact on prices or carry, as Wright said on Sunday, difficult "trade-offs."
"I don't see a lot of other ways to ease the pain without causing other severe distortions," Shih told Newsweek.
He said that unexplored policies would only "postpone when demand destruction starts occurring," while noting that this appears to be the only way to address the current supply gap.
And this appears to have begun, with airlines such as Virgin Atlantic canceling flights due to "evolving customer demand," and a recent poll finding that 44 percent of U.S. adults have cut back on driving because of high gas prices.
"The Trump administration has already taken what appropriate options available to it to mitigate the impact of history's largest oil disruption on U.S. consumers," McNally told Newsweek. "There are no good options left."
Why Gas Prices Matter for Trump
The price increases come as American households continue to grapple with a broader cost‑of‑living crisis, with expenses climbing across most goods and services, from transportation and groceries to housing and health care.
Recent rising energy costs have also triggered a resurgence in inflation, with the annual rate reaching its highest level in either of Trump’s presidential terms in March.
Administration officials, including the president himself, have warned that gas prices could remain elevated for months—potentially until the midterm elections, where congressional Republicans will be looking to fend off a Democratic wave and contain widespread voter unease about Trump’s agenda.
Texas Democrat Agrees With Trump
James Talarico, Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Texas, posted to X on Monday, saying that he agreed with Trump.
"President Trump and I agree: we should suspend the federal gas tax. It's time for @JohnCornyn to get on board. Texans need relief," Talarico said.
Former Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene said Trump should get rid of the federal gas tax in its entirety.
"Instead of helping Americans, they pursued and continue to pursue WARS in the Middle East," Greene said. "Yes please do throw the peasants some more bread crumbs. But at least make it permanent!"
Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri said on X Monday that he is introducing legislation to suspend the gas tax.
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