President Trump's chief of staff has put gas prices near the top of the West Wing's to-do list. Two energy executives tell Politico that Susie Wiles has directed advisers to show up in the Oval Office with concrete ideas for bringing down prices at the pump, which have climbed to their highest level since Trump took office following US strikes on Iran and Iran's reciprocal hits on Gulf energy infrastructure. "Every rock" is being overturned to check for options, one industry exec said, describing officials as desperate for "good news" and a pushback to the narrative of rising prices.
Politico notes that some Trump advisers, including Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, "are getting screamed at" to find remedies, and fast. Among the options under discussion: a short-term suspension of the federal gas tax, though that would require Congress' approval and might not immediately benefit drivers if refiners and gas stations keep the difference. Some officials have also suggested using the US military to shield Middle East energy facilities, an idea viewed skeptically in Saudi Arabia due to sensitivities over US troops on the ground there.
Publicly, the White House is emphasizing long-term benefits. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt argued that curbing Iran's control over the Strait of Hormuz will ultimately help global energy flows. Behind the scenes, however, the administration's usual low-oil-price advocates were initially sidelined as more hawkish voices shaped the Iran response, one executive said.
Trump has publicly downplayed the surge—crude briefly neared $78 a barrel, gas is averaging about $3.25 a gallon (it was $2.98 per gallon just a week earlier, per the AP), and Europe's natural gas prices have spiked—insisting prices will fall "lower than even before" once the Iran conflict eases. But as the Daily Beast notes, "most Americans primarily care about the cost-of-living crisis afflicting their day-to-day lives. If Trump's team fails to bring down prices soon, it could spell disaster [for the GOP] when Americans go to the polls."
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