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The United States Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright, declared this Sunday that the White House would be open to temporarily suspending the federal gasoline tax amid a historic rise in fuel prices caused by the war with Iran.
Wright stated on NBC that "any measures that can be taken to lower prices at gas stations and reduce costs for Americans have the support of this administration."
The national average price of gasoline reached 4.52 dollars per gallon this Sunday, according to data from the automotive association AAA, which represents an increase of more than 50% since the start of the conflict with Iran.
That gasoline price in the U.S. surged over 50% following the start of Operation Epic Fury on February 28, 2026, when the United States and Israel launched more than 1,700 airstrikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.
Iran responded by closing the Strait of Hormuz on March 4, collapsing naval traffic by 97% and leaving more than 2,000 vessels stranded on a route through which approximately 20% of the world's oil passes.
The federal gasoline tax is 18.3 cents per gallon —unchanged since 1993— and 24.3 cents per gallon for diesel, in addition to an extra fee of 0.1 cents per gallon for both fuels intended for the leaking underground storage tank fund.
The Trump administration admitted that the price of gasoline could continue to rise in the weeks prior, amidst internal tensions in the cabinet regarding energy outlooks.
Wright himself had acknowledged on CNN on April 19 that prices would not drop below three dollars per gallon until 2027, a statement that Trump publicly rejected as "completely wrong."
In Florida, the gasoline price rose by 40 cents and could continue to climb, reaching $4.34 per gallon at the beginning of May, which is 37% higher than at the start of the conflict.
The impact on consumers is severe: according to a survey by The Washington Post published at the end of April, 44% of adults in the U.S. have reduced the frequency with which they drive, 34% have altered their travel or vacation plans, and 42% have cut back on other household expenses to cover the cost of fuel.
The war with Iran has caused gasoline prices to soar and driven inflation to 3.3% year-on-year in March 2026, the highest level in two years.
To address the crisis, Trump authorized in March the release of 172 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the largest extraction in the country's history, coordinated with the International Energy Agency for a total of 400 million barrels globally.
However, the measure did not manage to contain the increase steadily, and the prices of oil and gasoline reached high levels in the U.S. in early May.
The suspension of the federal tax requires Congressional approval and would cost approximately $30 billion annually, according to an analysis by the University of Pennsylvania, although the actual savings for the average consumer would be less than eight dollars per month.
The Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent, predicted that gasoline could drop to three dollars per gallon in the summer of 2026 if the Strait of Hormuz reopens, a prospect that Wright called uncertain, warning that "everything has trade-offs."
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