Trump says he aims to suspend gas tax “for a period of time”

Washington — President Trump said in a phone interview with CBS News Monday morning that he aims to suspend the federal gas tax “for a period of time.”

“I think it’s a great idea,” the president said. “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.”

Gas prices have soared over 50% since the start of the Iran war on Feb. 28, hitting a high of over $4.52 on Sunday, according to AAA. Analysts say the prices are likely to remain high with Iran blocking access to the Strait of Hormuz. 

But suspending the excise taxes — 18.4 cents per gallon on gas and 24.4 cents a gallon on diesel — requires an act of Congress, and pausing it would cost the federal government about a half billion dollars a week. Several Democratic lawmakers have already introduced legislation to either pause or lower the federal gas tax.

Revenue raised by the federal gas tax goes toward the Highway Trust Fund to construct and repair roadways, and it also pays for other transit projects. 

In the interview, Mr. Trump rejected the idea of a bailout for U.S. air carriers as they contend with jet fuel costs that have more than doubled since the start of the war with Iran.

A bailout proposal “hasn’t really been presented,” he said. “The airlines are doing not badly.”

Budget carrier Spirit Airlines shut down earlier this month as it faced surging pressure from rising jet fuel prices. Analysts say ticket prices for all airlines will increase this summer as those costs increase. 

Mr. Trump said he watched CBS News’ “60 Minutes” interview with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and called it “pretty good,” though he disagreed with Netanyahu’s claim that “nobody had perfect foresight” when it came to Iran’s willingness to choke off the Strait of Hormuz.

“I did,” Trump asserted to CBS News. “I knew they closed it. That’s the only weapon they have. It’s not much of a weapon anymore, but that’s the only weapon they have. We would have had it open, except that I did the favors for certain countries that asked me not to do it, we would have had it open under Operation Freedom, but we can easily go back to that.” When asked if he does intend to restart the operation aimed at providing vessels safe passage through the strait, he said “I don’t know — either that, or (something) much more severe.”

Over the weekend, Mr. Trump declared the latest peace proposal from Iran “totally unacceptable.” Asked by CBS News to detail what it was about the proposal that he found unacceptable, he replied, “It was just a bad proposal, a stupid proposal, actually…done by people that have no clue as to the danger they’re in. Very stupid proposal. Badly written, badly delivered.” 

Asked whether the Iranians made any concessions when it came to their nuclear program, he replied, “Yeah, for sure, but not nearly enough.”