Trump, congressional Republicans float suspending federal gas tax amid Iran war

A sign displays the prices of unleaded, premium, and diesel gasoline at a Speedway gas station in Columbus, Ohio, US, on Monday, May 11, 2026. Brian Kaiser | Bloomberg | President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans are proposing suspending the federal gas tax as prices at the pump continue to soar ahead of the 2026 midterm elections . Gasoline and oil prices have soared since the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran broke out over two months ago. Iran has largely brought the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries a fifth of the world's oil, to a standstill since the first strikes began. Trump said in the Oval Office on Monday that he would "reduce" the tax, shortly after saying in an interview with CBS News that he wants to pause the tax "for a period of time." "I think it's a great idea," he said in the CBS interview. "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." Trump cannot declare a gas tax holiday alone, since Congress has sole authority over taxation. But several Republican lawmakers on Monday floated suspending the gas tax, which clocks in at 18.4 cents per gallon, the same amount it's been since 1993. Federal gas taxes primarily pay for federal highway construction and maintenance and also fund some public transit.