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Congressional Republicans have rallied around Donald Trump’s war on Iran even as they acknowledged that “Biden-level” petrol prices are hurting US consumers ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Prices at the pump, now higher than any time during the president’s two terms in office, are how ordinary Americans have felt the impact of Trump’s war most acutely as soaring global energy prices push up costs across US industries.
“Gas prices are now back to Biden levels, and that’s tough on families and farmers,” said Zach Nunn, a Republican congress member who is facing a competitive re-election battle in Iowa.
“But the folks I hear from aren’t asking us to look the other way on a regime that’s been killing Americans and threatening the world with a nuclear weapon.”
However, Nunn also urged the administration to “stay defined, stay limited, and deliver results that stabilise energy markets”, amid Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
The escalating prices, nearing an average of $4 per gallon, will pile further political pressure on Trump to end hostilities. The president explicitly campaigned on lowering the cost of petrol and remains ensnared in an affordability crisis over which his party risks losing control of Congress in November.
Republican lawmakers who support the war are trying to reassure their voters that the sharp rise in fuel prices is temporary, touting the White House’s broader record on lowering petrol costs.
Congress member Derrick van Orden, who is running for re-election in Wisconsin, said the president was “taking decisive action to address a war that Iran waged against the US 47 years ago”.
He said his party has delivered low petrol prices for Americans, and insisted the Trump administration was “focused on addressing the concerns families feel at the pump”.
Petrol prices fell from a high of more than $5 per gallon in June 2022 under Joe Biden to about $3 towards the end of his term in December 2024. They declined to roughly $2.8 per gallon by the end of the first year of Trump’s second term.
“We understand that gas prices have risen temporarily, and that is a concern for families,” van Orden added.
Congress member Don Bacon, who represents an electorally competitive district of Nebraska that includes the city of Omaha, agreed Trump’s response to Iran was “long overdue”, but also acknowledged that rising petrol prices have affected Nebraskan families.
“The price increase was expected and should be short-term once hostilities end,” said Bacon, who is retiring at the end of his term. He argued the administration’s efforts to increase energy production would “lower prices over time”.
A majority of Americans disapprove of how Trump has handled the cost of living, according to recent polling from YouGov, while about half are unhappy with petrol prices.
But Republicans are significantly less likely than Democrats or independent voters to expect further increases in petrol prices in coming months, with a much greater share of Republicans expecting prices to decline by then.
The US energy department earlier this month warned petrol and diesel prices are unlikely to recede to prewar levels until mid-2027 at the earliest.
Senator Kevin Cramer, who represents North Dakota, said that while the US oil price — which has risen to nearly $100 a barrel in recent weeks, and drives the underlying petrol price — had been “a wild ride”, he expected prices to decline “as soon as the bombing stops”.
“I’m not concerned, because I think it will be temporary,” Cramer told the FT, referring to the higher petrol prices. He said he would like Trump to “keep pressure” on Iran for another two to three weeks while negotiations took place.
“One thing that North Dakotans are really accustomed to are the cycles of commodity prices,” Cramer said. “So whether it’s wheat or cattle or oil or gas, we understand that, and we also understand it as consumers of food and fuel.”
