Trump says he aims to suspend gas tax “for a period of time”

Washington — President Trump told CBS News on Monday that he intends to suspend the federal gas tax ‘for a period of time” and phase it back in “when gas goes down.” 

The president made the comments in a phone interview with CBS News chief White House correspondent Nancy Cordes. Suspending the excise taxes — 18.4 cents per gallon on gas and 24.4 cents a gallon on diesel — requires an act of Congress. Congress has so far shown little interest in suspending it to bring down costs. 

“And yep, 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 president said. “But no, we’re gonna, we’ll, we’ll be doing something on that. Yes.”

Gas prices have soared over 50% since the start of the Iran war on Feb. 28, hitting a high of over $4.52 on Sunday, according to AAA. Analysts say the prices are likely to remain high with Iran blocking access to the Strait of Hormuz. 

The president said of Iran’s latest response to the U.S. peace proposal that it made concessions on its nuclear program, but “not enough,” and it’s still a “very stupid proposal.”

He also responded to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s comment on “60 Minutes” that “nobody had perfect foresight” on the Strait of Hormuz. Mr Trump said, “I did. I knew they closed it. That’s the only weapon they have.” He said the U.S. could have opened it under Project Freedom, the military operation that guided ships through the Strait of Hormuz, and said it could resume and it would be “much more severe.”