The Trump administration is facing growing pressure to lower diesel prices, with rural Republicans calling for a ban on diesel exports just weeks ahead of the November elections.
Several Republicans in rural districts who are locked in competitive races called for the White House to take action on high gas and diesel prices caused by the Iran war. Diesel prices hit a record high Monday, averaging $6.50 a gallon, while gasoline averaged $5.01, according to AAA.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) kicked off the calls for a ban on diesel exports over the weekend by calling on President Donald Trump directly, saying, “Why doesn’t Pres Trump put an embargo on diesel exports like presidents in the 70s put embargoes on ag products bc food prices were inflated.”
“High diesel prices ARE KILLING FARMERS INCOME,” Grassley wrote in a post to X.
Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA), who is running for Senate against Democratic nominee Josh Turek, said Republicans should “use every option at our disposal to provide some relief from high prices.”
Included in that, Hinson called for “suspending the gas tax, pausing diesel exports, unleashing E-15 everywhere we can, reinstating the $1/gallon biodiesel tax credit, and creating a diesel relief program to help our farmers and truckers being crushed by the high costs.”
The spike in fuel costs from the war and the disruption at the Strait of Hormuz has hit rural states particularly hard, as the states’ farmers and agricultural sector were already struggling from the president’s tariff agenda, which disrupted supply chains.
An Iowa Republican operative told the Washington Examiner that as harvest approaches in the state, Republican candidates are hearing more from voters that action needs to be taken on energy prices.
“I’m not sure it will lead to more direct criticism of President Trump, but there is certainly rising disagreement with some of the policies,” the operative said.
Also included in calls to ban diesel exports were GOP demands to bring the Iran war to an end.
Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) issued a dire statement on Monday, saying, “When a patient is hurt, you stop the bleeding first. Then you fix what caused it.”
“We must immediately suspend the federal and state gas tax, sell American diesel to Americans first, and get relief to the farmers and truckers who cannot wait,” Miller-Meeks said. “Then we fix the cause by drilling more here, selling E15 year-round, and ending the open-ended war. Last week I voted with Republicans and Democrats to do exactly that.”
Miller-Meeks was one of two Iowa Republicans, joined by Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA), to support a resolution directing Trump to end the war. Nunn echoed Miller-Meeks, saying, “We have to bring down the price of diesel.”
“My plan: Sell American energy to Americans first,” Nunn wrote on X. “Pass my Iowa-led biofuel bill = bring down gas 50 cents. Hold Big Oil accountable for gouging.”
Republican Michigan Senate nominee Mike Rogers similarly said that the war in Iran “needs to end to bring costs down — but Michigan families can’t afford to wait.”
The calls from Republican candidates for a ban on diesel exports come 42 days before Election Day. The GOP operative told the Washington Examiner that the GOP calls for a ban on diesel exports are “already a potential talking point,” as candidates can say they urged the president to take action.
“But a better talking point is, ‘I got the president to temporarily stop exports to give farmers some relief at the pump,’” the operative said, adding that it would be more helpful to Republicans’ campaigns if Trump “would act.”
Nearly seven months after the Iran war started, there is no clear resolution to the conflict, with Trump pushing back the expected end date to the conflict during the Republicans’ midterm convention earlier this month.
But even as Republicans call for a resolution to the war and relief for fuel costs, a White House official said in a statement to the Washington Examiner that the administration is “not considering an export ban or export restrictions at this time.”
IRAN WAR FUELS IOWA REPUBLICAN POLITICAL PIVOT AS GAS PRICES SOAR
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told reporters Monday that the president called her earlier in the day to discuss the high cost of gas and diesel, and that she expected an announcement “very soon on some potential actions” from the administration.
“Every tool in the tool kit is being evaluated right now, and we will continue to do that,” Rollins said.