Governors from both parties are offering the same response to soaring gasoline prices: Don’t look at me.
As war in the Middle East continues to destroy vital energy infrastructure and batter the global oil market, very few states are seriously considering a gasoline tax holiday — their only real short-term lever to lower prices at the pump.
Governors appear less inclined to drain state coffers than they were in 2022, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompted gas tax holidays in five states and calls for them in more than a dozen others.
The hesitance comes even as the energy market has emerged as one of the biggest pressure points in the war. President Donald Trump on Monday backed away from his threat to bomb Iranian power plants, citing confidential negotiations with Iranian leadership. Iran’s parliament speaker responded by accusing Trump of trying to “manipulate the financial and oil markets.”
