Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Tuesday walked back his prediction that gasoline prices may not drop below $3 until next year following sharp criticism from President Donald Trump.
The intra-administration discord over messaging came after Wright said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that prices “could” fall below $3 later this year but “might not happen until next year.” Asked about the comments, Trump told The Hill that his Energy secretary was “totally wrong.”
Senate Energy and Natural Resources ranking member Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) highlighted the disagreement during a hearing, asking Wright whether he stood by his original remarks. Wright struck a more uncertain tone.
“I don’t know the future of energy prices. Often I will speculate or look at those things,” he said, adding that gasoline prices appear to have peaked about a week ago — “about $1 a gallon cheaper than they peaked during the Biden administration.”
