Administration Defends Gas Promise as Prices Stay High

The U.S. average gas price hit $4.29 on Sunday, up from $3.04 a year earlier, as Energy Secretary Chris Wright defended the Trump administration’s promise to bring prices down while the Iran war enters its eighth month. Drivers see the bill at the pump; the promises come from the people running the war and the energy apparatus.

Some western states have seen prices top $5 since the Iran war began. AAA put the average at $5.39 in Washington, $5.40 in Nevada, $5.63 in Hawaii and $6.18 in California. Some Los Angeles-area stations charged more than $7.

The promise meets the pump

CNN asked Wright about his earlier prediction that gas prices would fall “within weeks, not months,” and whether Americans had been let down as prices stayed high. “No, we haven't,” Wright replied. He pointed to the Iranian government’s killing of 30,000 to 40,000 of its own citizens in January, then asked, “Are you comfortable with a nuclear-armed Iranian regime that's in power right now?”

His answer shifted from prices and a government promise to defending the administration’s conflict. Wright said the active attacks the U.S. was making would be over in “four or five or six weeks,” and said they were. He also argued that gasoline prices had fallen and “never got remotely close to $5 a gallon, over $5 a gallon.”

Dana Bash asked whether he was comfortable with gas prices. “No, of course I'm not comfortable but I'm happy they're coming down,” Wright said. “They have gone down the last few weeks, as have diesel prices, and they will continue to come down. That's what President Trump works on every day.” The administration’s assurance is clear. The national average remains above its level a year ago.

Wright said in March that prices would drop below $3 by summer, while adding there were “no guarantees.” In May, he said he was avoiding predictions about when prices would fall. The following month, he said gas might not fall below $3 until 2027, drawing criticism from Trump, who called Wright “totally wrong.” The administration’s own forecasts have shifted.

Diesel deal, limited reach

Earlier this month, Trump announced a deal for Russia to “immediately” supply 300,000 tons of diesel to the U.S. and global marketplace, with another 500,000 tons due in November. Diesel costs had risen before the deal. AAA put the U.S. average at $6.53.

Lawmakers from both parties criticized the deal after approving a sanctions package against Russia over its war with Ukraine. The record describes that legislative action and the diesel arrangement; neither changes the figures already reported at U.S. pumps.

Isabelle Gilks, principal analyst for retail fuels at Wood Mackenzie, said the announced Russian diesel volumes were “a small fraction, less than 5 percent, of U.S. diesel demand over the next few months,” and should have “very limited impact on U.S. retail prices.” The supply may make a headline. According to the analyst, its scale is small beside demand.

The account includes no grassroots organizing, mutual aid or direct action. It shows officials defending their forecasts, a president announcing a supply deal, lawmakers approving sanctions and drivers facing the prices AAA reports. Drivers paying at the pump get no quoted voice in that exchange.