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See all articlesSen. Hawley Backs Trump Plan to Suspend Gas Tax
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., on Monday said he plans to introduce legislation to suspend the federal gas tax to save drivers 18.4 cents per gallon.
President Donald Trump earlier Monday told CBS News he wanted to suspend the federal gas tax "for a period of time."
"I think it's a great idea," the president said. "Yup, 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."
Asked by reporters in the Oval Office later in the day how long the gas tax would be suspended, Trump responded, "Till it's appropriate."
Gas prices have skyrocketed since the start of the Iran war on Feb. 28, hitting a high of over $4.52 on Sunday, according to AAA.
Suspending the excise tax requires an act of Congress, and pausing it would cost the federal government about $500 million per week.
Hawley previously expressed support for making the gas tax holiday permanent.
"If Joe Biden was serious, he would make the gas tax 'holiday' permanent and pay for it with tariffs on Chinese energy — solar panels, batteries, wind turbines," he said in 2022, when then-President Biden had suspended the gas tax for 90 days to provide relief from record-high fuel prices stemming from COVID-19 problems.
As gas prices have spiked, the Trump administration has released millions of barrels of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve and temporarily lifted sanctions on some Russian and Iranian oil shipments already at sea.
The U.S. is negotiating with countries reliant on Middle East crude to join a coalition to police the Strait of Hormuz, where about one-fifth of the world's traded oil normally flows.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., also said in a post on X that she will introduce a bill "to suspend the federal gas tax in light of Trump's recent remarks."
The ongoing spike in gas prices has set off alarms among some Republicans that it could hurt the party's chances in the midterm elections. Trump has previously said higher fuel prices are worth paying to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.