As the nationwide price of gasoline soars, President Trump told reporters Monday he’d like to temporarily suspend the national gas tax.

But he’d need Congressional approval first.

The gas tax, which has been in existence for nearly a century, funds the crucial Highway Trust Fund and has never been successfully suspended, despite past proposals.

Estimates are that that suspending the tax would cost the fund billions over a period of months and could create an additional political liability for Republicans ahead of the midterms.

Several Republican lawmakers raced to introduce new measures in both chambers today. It is unclear which, if any of those emerging measures, Trump supports.

So what are the proposals?

Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., introduced legislation to suspend the federal gas tax for 18 months — eliminating the current federal fuel taxes, including 18.3 cents per gallon on gasoline, 24.3 cents per gallon on diesel fuel and kerosene and 19.3 cents per gallon on aviation gasoline. Van Drew’s measure does not suspend the Leaking Underground Storage Tank fee of 0.1 cents per gallon on both fuels, but after 18 months, the gas taxes would gradually phase back in slowly instead of returning all at once.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, announced Monday via X that he is introducing legislation to suspend the gas tax and underground storage tank fee. Hawley, who has previously expressed support for making the gas tax holiday permanent, is now calling for a 90-day suspension of the gas tax, alongside the option for the president to extend that authority another 90 days if he determines that economic conditions merit an extension.

And Rep. Anna Paulina Luna said: “This week I will be introducing a bill in the House to suspend the federal gas tax in light of Trump’s recent remarks.”

Since the start of Operation Epic Fury, some Democrats have given bipartisan vibes to the debate – pushing to suspend the gas tax over the past 10 weeks.

Sens. Mark Kelly, Richard Blumenthal and Rep. Chris Pappas crafted legislation that would temporarily suspend the federal gas tax through Oct. 1, 2026, which would end about a month before the midterms. The group of Democrats introduced the bill on March 9.

And Rep. Brendan Boyle proposed a bill to suspend the federal gas tax whenever the national average price of gas exceeds $4 per gallon. Boyle said the legislation would offset the lost revenue by redirecting about $30 billion in existing federal subsidies currently going to oil and gas companies into the Highway Trust Fund. Boyle introduced the bill on April 14, 2026.

Could a gas tax holiday pass in Congress?

Lifting the federal gas tax — currently 18.4 cents per gallon for regular gas and 24.4 cents per gallon for diesel — would require congressional approval – and almost certainly bipartisan support.

When asked about the proposal, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who has previously rejected a suspension under the Biden administration, quickly poured cold water on the prospects of a gas tax holiday.

“I’ve not, in the past, obviously been a fan of that idea. But, you know, I know I’ve got some colleagues out there who think it’s a good idea, and so we’ll hear them out,” Thune, R-South Dakota, initially told reporters off-camera Monday afternoon at the Capitol.

However, he later expressed an openness to President Trump’s call for a suspension, pointing at challenging factors in the Middle East.

“The best way to get gas prices to normalize, in my view, is to get the Strait open,” Thune said.

“But you know, the whole issue of the gas tax is something that a lot of our members have talked about before.

“If the President wants to make an argument in support of that, I’m sure everybody will give him a chance and hear him out,” Thune added.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer notably didn’t shoot down the idea; however, he argued the best solution to bring prices down would be to end the conflict in Iran.

“Americans don’t need just a few cents back,” he said. “They need an end to the chaos that sent gas prices soaring in the first place.”

Spokespersons for Speaker Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s desire to suspend the federal gas tax.

The political gamble of high gas prices

Oil and gas prices have skyrocketed worldwide during the monthslong war, as the critical Strait of Hormuz remains effectively shut – preventing 20 million barrels of oil from transiting daily.

As of Monday, the national average for a gallon of unleaded gasoline in the U.S. was $4.52, according to data from AAA, up more than $1.50 since the war started on Feb. 28.

While lawmakers fret that increased pain at the pump could result in a rankled, angry electorate this fall, Trump’s support to suspend the federal gas tax puts the onus on Congress to deliver.

However, enacting a gas tax holiday also amounts to an open acknowledgement that Operation Epic Fury has resulted in higher global and domestic gas prices – something congressional Republicans and the administration are both not eager to embrace ahead of this fall’s congressional midterm elections.

The debate is already reverberating on the campaign trail – including the Texas Senate race, where Democratic nominee James Talarico jabbed Sen. John Cornyn, who is fighting for his political survival in a tough primary runoff.

“Lowering prices at the pump should be a bipartisan commitment,” Talarico said. “I urge Senator Cornyn to drop his opposition to suspending the gas tax. He should join President Trump and me in supporting this critical tax relief for Texans.”

Congress has the power of the purse, including control over the national gas tax – first created by the National Revenue Act of 1932 during the Great Depression.

There is not yet one singular proposal that Republicans are rallying behind. The clock for Congress to take action could exceed the president’s war in Iran, so it’s unclear whether leadership feels an urgency to address pain at the pump.

President Joe Biden proposed a national gas tax holiday in 2022 as Russia’s conflict with Ukraine caused a surge in prices, but he faced pushback from within his own party. Democrats at the time questioned whether it was a better deal for the gas companies than the consumer.

What about the financial cost?

There is also the question of whether Congress can afford the billions of dollars in lost tax revenue.

The federal gas tax funds the Highway Trust Fund, which the Congressional Budget Office predicts could run out of money by 2028 at current spending levels. The Bipartisan Policy Center estimates that suspending the gas tax for five months would cost the fund $17 billion.

Although there have been similar proposals before during times of increased prices at the pump, Congress has never successfully paused the national gas tax.

The last time the gas tax was increased was in 1993 when former President Bill Clinton signed a reconciliation bill into law.