Trump continues to mull federal gas tax holiday

(Daily Caller News Foundation) – President Donald Trump said Tuesday he is weighing a gas tax suspension – three weeks after House Republican leaders shelved a bill to do it.

“We’re thinking about that,” Trump said when asked whether the federal gas tax should be suspended, Reuters reported. He appeared to give no other details.

Trump spoke a day after he signed an executive order at a rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, temporarily allowing truckers to use tax-exempt dyed diesel on highways.

Suspending the 18.4-cent-per-gallon federal gasoline tax and the 24.4-cent diesel tax requires an act of Congress, CBS News reported.

Republican Maryland Rep. Andy Harris, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, introduced a bill Sept. 15 to temporarily suspend federal fuel taxes.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said the next day that leadership decided against a vote after it became clear the Republican conference did not agree on the measure, Roll Call reported.

Republican Missouri Rep. Sam Graves, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, opposed bringing the bill to the floor, according to co-sponsor Republican Louisiana Rep. Clay Higgins, the outlet reported.

Asked whether Trump would press Congress to suspend the taxes, the White House referred the Daily Caller News Foundation to his comments.

“Republican swamp creatures are obviously tone deaf to Americans’ concerns over fuel costs,” Harris wrote on X on Sept. 15. “Good luck in November.”

Trump told CBS News in May that “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.”

Democratic Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and Democratic New Hampshire Rep. Chris Pappas introduced bills earlier this year to suspend the gasoline tax through Oct. 1, Thomson Reuters reported.

Congress has never suspended the federal gas tax, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center, which estimated that a five-month suspension would cut gas tax revenue by about $17 billion, or 46 percent of the gas and diesel tax revenue projected to flow to the Highway Trust Fund in fiscal year 2026.

Regular gasoline averaged $4.37 a gallon nationally Tuesday, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).

Trump’s approval rating held at a record low of 32 percent in a Reuters/Ipsos poll completed Monday, with Americans most concerned about the high cost of living as gasoline and diesel prices climb, Reuters reported.