President Trump this week endorsed a federal motor fuel tax holiday, but his own party on Capitol Hill has been circumspect in its response.

In what appeared to be an impromptu response to an interview question from CBS News on May 11, when asked what he thought of the idea of a fuel tax holiday, the President said “I think it’s a great idea. 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.”

The question to the President was the follow-up to an opening left by Energy Secretary Chris Wright the day before, when he had the following exchange on Meet the Press:

Q: Would you support suspending the federal gas tax to give families relief right now?

Sec. Wright: Yeah, all measures that can be taken to lower the price at the pump and lower the prices for all Americans, this administration is in support of…

Q: This is significant what you’re saying. You’re saying that you, that President Trump, would be open to suspending the federal gas tax?

Sec. Wright: We’re open to all ideas, everything has trade-offs, all ideas to lower prices for American consumers and American businesses.

However, support amongst Republicans on Capitol Hill has been tepid, except amongs ultra-loyalists like Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), who introduced a bill this week, and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (D-FL), who promised to introduce a bill but had not done so as of last night.

This may be because people currently in the White House orbit were not paying attention in 2022, when a gas tax holiday was a Democratic idea that Republicans on the Hill roundly ridiculed, and which went nowhere.

See the following articles I wrote on this topic in 2022:

Vulnerable Senate D’s Propose $20B Gas Tax Holiday (Feb. 11, 2022)

White House Endorses 3-Month Gasoline Tax Holiday (June 22, 2022)

At the time, none other than Sen. John Thune (R-SD) called the gas tax holiday bill “yet another gimmick, another Band-Aid and something they know is dead on arrival up here in Congress.”

Suspending the 18.4 cent-per-gallon gasoline tax and the 24.3 cent-per-gallon diesel fuel tax for six months (the minimum necessary to get through the fall elections, because it would be politically senseless to increase taxes right before an election) would cost the Treasury around $20 billion in lost revenue.

If Congress simply suspends the tax and takes no other action, the $20 billion comes out of the Highway Trust Fund. But every proposal introduced in Congress so far this year (see below) contains the same “hold harmless” provision that requires the General Fund to reimburse the Trust Fund for the estimated amount of the lost revenue. The link between highway user tax payments and highway spending would still be further reduced, however.

But because the federal fuel taxes are paid “upstream” at the refinery or tank farm, before the fuel is sold to retailers (who then set the price at the pump), there no guarantee how much, if any, of the tax cut will be passed on to motorists.

So far, Republican leaders in the House and Senate have kept quiet on the tax holiday idea and may be content to let it die quietly. But even if the leaders decide to move forward, the $20 billion cost may be a problem in the Senate.

Proposals for a Motor Fuel Tax Holiday in the 119^th Congress

All bills require the General Fund to reimburse the Highway Trust Fund for estimated tax revenues lost during the holiday.

• June 5, 2025 – H.R. 3768, by Reps. Harder (D-CA) and Schrier (D-WA) – suspends gasoline tax only from date of enactment through December 31, 2025.
• March 9, 2026 – S. 4032, by Sen. Kelly (D-AZ) and Blumenthal (D-CT) – suspends gasoline tax only from date of enactment through September 30, 2026.
• March 12, 2026 – H.R. 7919, by Reps. Pappas (D-NH), Vindman (D-VA), Riley (D-NY), and Landsman (D-OH) – suspends gasoline tax only from date of enactment through September 30, 2026.
• April 29, 2026 – H.R. 8572 by Reps. Harder (D-CA), Schrier (D-WA), and Vindman (D-VA) – suspends gasoline tax only from date of enactment through December 31, 2026.
• April 30, 2026 – H.R. 8600 by Reps. Boyle (D-PA), Carson (D-IN), Carbajal (D-CA), Landsman (D-OH), Keating (D-MA) – suspends gasoline/diesel taxes automatically during any month where national average price of gasoline exceeds $3.99/gallon by 1 cent for each cent of overage.
• May 11, 2026 – S. 4485 by Sen. Hawley (R-MO) – suspends gasoline/diesel taxes for 90 days after enactment, which the President may renew no more than once for a total of 180 days.
• May 13, 2026 – H.R. 8795 by Rep. Luna (R-FL)  – no text available yet.