The Iraq War has led to soaring fuel prices, and US President Trump said he supports cutting gasoline taxes to offset the impact of rising oil prices.
Reuters reported that Trump said on Monday (May 11) that he supports suspending the federal gasoline tax of 18.4 cents per gallon (about S$0.23). However, exempting this tax requires congressional legislation. The U.S. Congress is currently controlled by Trump's Republican Party.
When asked in the Oval Office that day whether he would suspend the federal gasoline tax, Trump said, "I will." When asked how long he would suspend it, he said, "Until the appropriate time."
Earlier that day, Trump told CBS that there was no bailout plan for airlines and that "the airlines aren't doing too badly."
Missouri Republican Senator Joe Hawley revealed on the X platform that he introduced a bill on the 11th to suspend the gasoline tax and the 24.4 cents per gallon diesel tax for 90 days.