We’ve entered the third month of the Trump administration’s expensive, unjustified war on Iran—a conflict that has killed thousands of civilians, wounded hundreds of servicemembers, and is rapidly exacerbating our domestic affordability crisis.

The average gas price is now $4.52 per gallon, home energy costs continue their steady climb, and inflation has reached its highest rate in three years. And despite the fact that people are struggling to afford basic necessities, major corporations are reporting record profits, and our leaders are continuing to spend tens of billions of taxpayer dollars on an unwanted war.

Needless to say, Republicans are getting increasingly nervous about their election prospects—and increasingly desperate to position themselves as the party of affordability.

Which brings them to their latest proposal: suspending the federal gas tax.

The federal government has been charging per-gallon fuel taxes since 1932—a practice that generates billions of dollars in revenue for the Highway Trust Fund. The current levy, which was last raised more than 30 years ago, is 18.4 cents per gallon of gas and 24.4 cents per gallon of diesel.

Trump has proposed suspending that tax for a “period of time,” which would save drivers a little less than that 18 cents per gallon. But when a tank of gas still costs up to $25 more than it did before the war, saving $2 per fill-up is a small mercy. And those meager savings come at a massive cost to the Highway Trust Fund, which supports our roads, bridges, and Interstate Highway System.

Of course, that hasn’t stopped Trump’s supporters from jumping on the bandwagon, with Senate and House Republicans introducing bills to suspend the tax for anywhere from 90 days to 18 months. 90 days would cost us upwards of $10 billion in lost revenue for the Highway Trust Fund. 18 months would devastate it completely.

It’s the furthest thing from a viable solution.

The gas tax holiday wasn’t a great idea when Democrats proposed it in March, nor when Biden did so in 2022. The only reason congressional Republicans are getting on board now is that Trump supports it—and because it’s an opportunity for them to save face as the American people navigate skyrocketing prices driven by their own party’s policy decisions.

If their true goal is to address the affordability crisis, there are better ways to do so.

Legislators could establish a windfall profits tax to ensure oil and gas companies aren’t making record crisis profits at the public’s expense. They could combine a federal gas holiday with a windfall profits tax and use the revenue from the latter to support the Highway Trust Fund. One Democratic candidate for the Senate has even proposed a robust, multi-step plan to lower energy prices, which includes replacing the gas tax with an increased wealth tax on billionaires, taxing windfall profits, and freezing national energy rates.

And we can’t forget the most impactful action of all—putting an end to the war.

While Congress has yet to pass a war powers resolution, support for ending the conflict is growing. Three Senate Republicans joined all but one Senate Democrat in voting for the newest resolution earlier this week, and the most recent House resolution was just one vote shy of achieving a majority.

We just have to keep the pressure on.

Join us as we advocate for an end to the war and continue raising our voices in support of true affordability solutions!