Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday urged Congress to suspend the federal gas tax as U.S. consumers deal with higher fuel prices due to the Iran war.
Mr. Bessent underscored the White House’s request during a back-and-forth with a Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee.
“You’re in favor of eliminating the gas tax?” Rep. John Larson, Connecticut Democrat, said.
“We have asked for that,” Mr. Bessent testified.
The federal gas tax is 18.4 cents per gallon of gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon of diesel.
President Trump floated a temporary suspension of the tax in early May.
Suspending the tax requires congressional action, and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have said they’re ready to act on Mr. Trump’s wishes.
“Why isn’t it before the committee for a vote?” Mr. Larson said at the committee hearing.
“I don’t run the agenda,” Mr. Bessent said from the witness table.
The U.S. average cost of a gallon of gas stood at $4.24, down from $4.42 a week ago but up 42% since the war began on Feb. 28, according to the AAA motor club.
Gasoline is refined from crude oil.
Oil prices rose after Iran retaliated for U.S.-Israeli strikes by closing the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint that carries a fifth of the world’s oil supply.
Democrats are focused on higher prices this election cycle to gain political leverage over Mr. Trump and his GOP allies. In response, the president said oil and gas prices will plummet once the war is over, given the pent-up supply.
“Gas prices have gone up, which I believe will be temporary,” Mr. Bessent told House lawmakers.
Congress has not granted a gas-tax holiday since the levy was created in 1932 to fund highway projects.
Lawmakers in both parties filed legislation to grant Mr. Trump’s wish for a suspension, but there is general pushback. Critics of a suspension say consumers would see relatively modest savings while highway funds would be severely depleted.
Many policymakers would prefer to see the Strait of Hormuz reopened.
Mr. Trump is working on a deal with the Iranians that would reopen the strait and lift a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports while setting the table for talks around Tehran’s nuclear program.
The process has been challenging, given both sides’ demands, fractured Iranian leadership and rocket strikes in the Middle East.
