On Tuesday, President Donald Trump mentioned he is considering a suspension of the gas tax, just three weeks after House Republican leaders opted not to move forward with a related bill.
“We’re thinking about that,” Trump stated when asked about the federal gas tax suspension, as reported by Reuters. He didn’t provide any further details.
This announcement came a day after Trump signed an executive order at a rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, which allows truckers to utilize tax-exempt dyed diesel on highways.
For the gas tax of 18.4 cents per gallon and the 24.4-cent diesel tax to be suspended, congressional approval is needed, according to CBS News.
Maryland Rep. Andy Harris, chair of the House Freedom Caucus, had introduced a bill on September 15 aimed at temporarily halting federal fuel taxes.
The next day, House Speaker Mike Johnson indicated that leadership chose not to bring the bill to a vote after realizing the Republican conference was divided on the issue, as reported by Roll Call.
Sam Graves, the Republican chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, opposed moving the bill forward, as noted by co-sponsor Clay Higgins from Louisiana.
When asked if Trump would push Congress for the tax suspension, the White House referred inquiries back to his earlier remarks.
On September 15, Harris expressed frustration on X, noting that “Republican swamp creatures are obviously tone deaf to Americans’ concerns over fuel costs. Good luck in November.”
In a CBS News interview back in May, Trump stated, “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.”
Earlier this year, Democratic Senator Mark Kelly from Arizona and Democratic Representative Chris Pappas from New Hampshire introduced bills aiming to suspend the gasoline tax through October 1, according to Thomson Reuters.
Interestingly, the Bipartisan Policy Center noted that Congress has never before suspended the federal gas tax, and they estimated that a five-month suspension could reduce gas tax revenue by about $17 billion, equating to roughly 46 percent of the anticipated gas and diesel tax revenue for the Highway Trust Fund in the fiscal year 2026.
As of Tuesday, the national average for regular gasoline stood at $4.37 per gallon, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).
Additionally, Trump’s approval rating remains at a historic low of 32 percent, based on a Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Monday, with many Americans expressing concern over rising living costs, particularly as gas and diesel prices continue to climb.
