Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the Trump administration is ready to suspend the federal gas tax to reduce costs for US consumers amid the war in Iran.
Asked about stopping the gas tax, Wright said during a May 10 appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” “This administration supports whatever measures can be taken to lower the price at the pump and lower prices for Americans.”
The national average gas price rose last week to $4.55 a gallon, according to AAA. Gas prices haven’t risen this high since 2022, when the national average reached $5.01.
The federal gas tax is about 18 cents per gallon and 24 cents per gallon for diesel fuel.
Wright declined to predict whether gas prices would rise above $5 a gallon this year.
When pressed about whether gas prices might rise further in the coming weeks, he told moderator Kristen Welker, “I don’t know the future of gas prices.”
Wright previously told Welker during an appearance on “Meet the Press” in March that there was a “good chance” consumers would get $3 gas before the summer. In a May 10 appearance, he defended those claims, saying he “can’t make any predictions.”
“When we start getting free flow of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, energy prices will go down,” he said.