Economist Steve Moore is urging President Trump to respond to this week’s Republican midterm losses by taking immediate action on fuel prices, arguing that affordability, not any single scandal, drove voters away from the GOP on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
In an opinion column published by Fox News, Moore wrote that pollsters broadly agree the election outcome was shaped by frustration over gas prices and the broader cost of living, even as Republicans point to other factors including ICE raids, the war, weak candidates and tariffs as contributing causes.
Moore’s proposal calls for Trump to address the nation and pledge that administration policy over the next two years will be judged by whether it helps working-class Americans, farmers, ranchers and small-business owners cover their bills. He also wants Trump to commit to vetoing any congressional energy legislation he believes would raise costs.
The centerpiece of Moore’s plan is an executive order he says could cut gas prices at the pump by 50 cents a gallon or more, by temporarily suspending the 18.4-cent federal gas tax until prices fall nationally below $4 a gallon, and by pausing renewable fuel regulations Moore says can add up to 45 cents to a gallon of gas or diesel.
Moore anticipates Democrats would question whether Trump has unilateral authority to suspend the tax. His answer: have Trump demand that Congress pass emergency legislation to do it when lawmakers return Nov. 9, putting the onus on Democrats to act or explain why they won’t.
States Singled Out
Moore’s column points to three states as examples of policies he says push gas prices higher rather than lower.
California, he notes, has the most expensive gas in the country. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed legislation banning new offshore drilling, and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has banned all drilling in the city for 20 years, according to the column.
In New Jersey, Moore writes that Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill warned 12 energy companies that importing Russian oil and gas into the state’s harbors is illegal and could carry criminal penalties.
Illinois is cited alongside California as one of the states charging more than 70 cents a gallon in state gas taxes on top of the federal tax, according to Moore’s figures.
Moore also argues that exit polling from Tuesday’s elections shows a majority of voters say their own family finances are getting worse, including many who have twice voted for Trump, and that this erosion of confidence is a central lesson for the party.
He is calling on Trump to press Congress for permitting reform to speed construction of refineries and pipelines, to challenge governors to suspend state gas taxes until prices drop well below $4 a gallon, and to end the ethanol mandate, which he says could lower prices by more than $1 a gallon in some states.
Moore frames the choice as a test for Democrats in Congress, who he says campaigned on promises of lower gas prices: either work with Trump on relief measures or be seen as unserious about the affordability concerns that just reshaped the electoral map.
