SEEKING RELIEF: Some momentum is rising to suspend the national gas tax as prices continue to climb and Trump suggests the ceasefire with Iran is on “life support.”
Trump told CBS News in an interview Monday that he wants to suspend the gas tax “for a period of time.”
“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,” he said.
The move would provide some amount of relief to the American public as prices have soared since the Iran war began in late February. The average cost of regular gas currently stands at $4.50 per gallon, following increase of 25 cents over a week, according to AAA.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), two key Trump allies in Congress, both quickly announced they would introduce legislation for a suspension.
But while any drop in cost would be welcome news to Americans struggling with high prices, the impacts would still be limited. The national tax for gasoline is 18.4 cents per gallon, while the tax for diesel is 24.4 cents per gallon.
Suspending the tax would lower the price, but it would still be well above where it was before the war began.
The effort may also face some opposition in Congress. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) reportedly said Monday that he has not “been a fan” of suspending the gas tax, while Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said two weeks ago that a suspension would be a “good way to bankrupt the country.”
▪ The Hill: The Memo: Iran ceasefire teeters as Trump blasts Iran proposal.
▪ The Hill: Odds of voter revolt over economy depend on Iran war.
OBSTACLE CLEARED: The Supreme Court wiped a lower-court decision that blocked a congressional map that Alabama Republicans are hoping to use for this year’s midterms.
The decision is the latest outgrowth of the court’s landmark ruling from last month that further restricted the use of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) to create minority majority congressional districts.
The ruling gives Alabama the opportunity to revert to the map the state passed in 2023 that had only one majority-Black congressional district. A panel of judges rejected that map and imposed a court-ordered map currently in effect that includes two majority-Black districts.
The Supreme Court ruling now gives Alabama the chance to convince the lower court to allow the 2023 map to take effect. The ruling was delivered over the dissent of the high court’s three liberal justices.
The decision also came as Virginia Democrats formally asked the Supreme Court to overturn a state Supreme Court ruling that struck down a new map that would likely net them up to four pickup opportunities. Unless the high court intervenes, Virginia will keep its current map in place this year.
▪ The Hill: Supreme Court extends pause on abortion pill restrictions.
▪ The Hill: Trump encourages South Carolina Republicans on redistricting.
RED FLAG: A group has sued over Trump’s project to coat the Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., in “American flag blue,” arguing it violates environmental and preservation laws.
The Cultural Landscape Foundation and its founder, Charles Birnbaum, argued the blue coating is “altering the historic character” of the pool, which runs from the Lincoln Memorial to the World War II Memorial, without authorization. The organization asked a district court in D.C. for an emergency injunction to stop the project.
The lawsuit argues the National Historic Preservation Act requires the government to conduct consultations before changing the property. It also argues the project doesn’t meet the government’s obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act.
The project is just one of the Trump administration’s endeavors in the nation’s capital that have faced legal scrutiny and other pushback, including the construction of a White House ballroom, the possible repainting of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and renovations to the city’s golf courses.
▪ The New York Times: Reflecting pool repairs to exceed $13 million.
SUBPOENAS: The Wall Street Journal said it has received subpoenas from the Department of Justice (DOJ) for the records of its reporters, the latest move in the department's probe trying to crack down on leaks.
The Journal reported that Trump privately complained to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche last month about leaks amid the Iran war, leading to an aggressive push by the DOJ to investigate. An official told the outlet that Blanche vowed to secure subpoenas targeting the records of reporters who worked on sensitive national security stories.
The subpoenas to the Journal are related to a Feb. 23 article the outlet published, reporting that Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Dan Caine and other Pentagon officials warned Trump about the risk of an extended military campaign in Iran. The war started with coordinated U.S.-Israeli airstrikes days later.
“The government’s subpoenas to The Wall Street Journal and our reporters represent an attack on constitutionally protected newsgathering. We will vigorously oppose this effort to stifle and intimidate essential reporting," Ashok Sinha, the chief communications officer of Dow Jones, which publishes the Journal, said in a statement.
The DOJ has also been in a legal battle attempting to access devices seized from a reporter for The Washington Post in a classified documents leak probe earlier this year.
