MAGA-aligned U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Mike Lee (R-UT) are being called out for supporting President Trump’s suggestion of a Gas Tax Holiday, as prices at the pump continue to soar as a result of the war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
On Monday, Trump told reporters that he wants to pause the 18 cent federal gas tax “for a period of time.” He added, “Yup, 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.”
Hawley responded by introducing legislation to suspend the gas tax. Lee responded to Hawley’s announcement: “The federal gasoline tax was introduced to build the interstate highway system That system is now built. We should now repeal the federal gasoline tax and let each state maintain its portion of the interstate highway system—with its own revenue—as was the plan from the beginning.”
I’m introducing legislation today to suspend the gas tax https://t.co/hVHRhUVPgC
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) May 11, 2026
In June 2022, when President Joe Biden called on Congress to suspend the 18.4 cents-per-gallon federal gas tax for 90 days to combat high fuel prices after Russia invaded Ukraine, Lee complained that it would “drive up inflation.” Biden’s proposal did not pass.
Lee wrote of Biden’s proposal at the time: “We still have to pay for the upkeep and the maintenance of our interstate transportation network. Our interstate system. So where’s that money going to come from, Harris? We’re just going to have to borrow more of it. Effectively printing more of it. You know what that does? That spikes inflation even more. That’s why this is treacherous. This is wrong, and we can’t let it happen.”
Mike Lee when Biden proposed a gas tax holiday in 2022. https://t.co/w6NCF8LZ7L pic.twitter.com/SPMQoMwEIX
— Joe Perticone (@JoePerticone) May 12, 2026
Many X users are responding by calling Lee and Hawley “hypocrites,” noting that the federal interstate highway system has benefited from Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure bill of 2021, which invested $550 billion toward upgrading transportation, utilities, and broadband, aiming to improve roads, bridges, and public transit.