A rare three-way alignment formed in Texas politics Monday — between a Republican president, a Democratic Senate candidate and the state’s senior Republican senator — over pausing the federal gas tax.
President Donald Trump told CBS News on Monday, May 11, during an interview that he was open to pausing the federal gas tax as gas prices soared during the Iran War.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Trump said in a May 11 phone interview with CBS News. “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.”
Just a day earlier, Energy Secretary Chris Wright was on NBC’s Meet the Press, saying he and the administration are open to various measures to lower prices at the pump.
Bipartisan Support Builds
This idea of pausing the federal gas tax was also endorsed by U.S. Senate Democratic candidate James Talarico in Texas, who applauded Trump for considering it.
“I applaud President Trump’s support for a federal gas tax suspension. Lowering prices at the pump should be a bipartisan commitment,” Talarico said in a statement. “I urge Sen. John 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.”
While Talarico called on Cornyn, the senator had been reluctant to support the idea, calling the proposal “short-sighted,” saying it would “explode the deficit” in an April 21 interview with FOX4.
“It’s really not a solution; it would make things worse,” Cornyn said in that interview.
However, on Monday, Cornyn signaled a flip in his position, telling a reporter on Capitol Hill that he “could live” with a temporary suspension of the tax.
“Nobody said how we’re going to pay for the roads and bridges, and I’d be interested in how they propose to do that. But I think there’s a difference between a temporary suspension and a permanent suspension. I don’t know exactly what the president has in mind,” Cornyn told the reporter.
How Much Is the Federal Gas Tax?
The federal gas tax is $0.184 per gallon.
Texans also pay a $0.20 Texas Motor Fuel Tax, which is set by the Texas Legislature. The last time Texas lawmakers adjusted the tax rate was in 1991.
How Much Is Gas in Texas?
According to AAA, the average gas price in Texas on May 12 is $4.011, with the national average at $4.504.
The cheapest average gas price in Texas on May 12 was in Sherman-Denison, north of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, at $3.857. The most expensive was in El Paso at $4.146.
Mateo Rosiles is the Texas Connect reporter for USA TODAY and its regional papers in Texas.
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