{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.reed.senate.gov/news/releases/trump-has-irresponsibly-driven-up-gas-prices-by-40-and-americans-just-experienced-the-priciest-august-at-the-pump-ever", "Trump Has Irresponsibly Driven Up Gas Prices by 40% & Americans Just Experienced the Priciest August at the Pump Ever", "2026-09-02", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "Senate", "RI", "Jack Reed", "R000122", "www.reed.senate.gov", "jackreed", "https://www.reed.senate.gov/news/releases", "scraper", "PROVIDENCE, RI \u2013 As President Trump\u2019s irresponsible war with Iran crosses the half-year mark with escalating conflict and no end in sight, and still with no coherent strategy or endgame from the Trump Administration, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) says President Trump\u2019s refusal to listen to U.S. Intelligence and uniformed military personnel led to avoidable blunders that have driven up gas prices nearly 40 percent nationwide compared with before the war.\n\nAs a result, for the first time ever, U.S. gas prices averaged above $4 per gallon for the entire month of August, according to AAA.\n\nSenator Reed says Trump\u2019s ill-conceived war of choice; the flawed assumptions of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other cabinet officials; and a refusal to listen to experts left the Trump Administration flat-footed for Iran\u2019s closure of the Strait of Hormuz that predictably destabilized the global energy market. And Trump\u2019s escalating trade wars with Canada and other countries are imposing needlessly high tariff taxes on Americans, making it harder for working families to afford gas, groceries, housing, healthcare, and more.\n\nAs of today, the national average price for a gallon of regular gas was $4.12 and the average price in Rhode Island is $4.16, according to AAA.\n\nRegular unleaded gasoline in Rhode Island averaged $2.94 the week before the war -- $1.22 less per gallon than it is today. The price of diesel in Rhode Island -- which powers trucks, tractors, and fishing boats -- is now $5.63 per gallon. The price of Brent crude oil was trading above $95 per barrel earlier today and West Texas Intermediate traded at $90 per barrel.\n\nSenator Reed says every American is paying higher prices today due to President Trump\u2019s hubris, ego, lack of foresight, and repeated blunders \u2013 which includes making Jared Kushner, who is President Donald Trump\u2019s son-in-law, and Steve Witkoff, who is President Trump\u2019s friend, donor, and golfing buddy -- the chief diplomatic negotiators with Iran. Reed also points out the Trump family is financially profiting from the higher gas prices by pulling in millions of dollars from oil and gas company stock holdings.\n\nAccording to CBS News: \u201cDemocrats on the Joint Economic Committee estimated this week that the president\u2019s holdings in oil and gas companies have jumped in value from a range of $13 million to $46 million at the start of this year, to $17 million to $61 million by mid-August. Filers are only required to report ranges of transactions, not specific dollar amounts. The estimates were based on his stock holdings in 2025, and didn't take into account the trades that he's made since then.\u201d\n\nSenator Reed stated: \u201cWhen President Trump recklessly launched this war he dragged the American people into a protracted conflict without their consent. This wasn\u2019t just a miscalculation, it was absolute malpractice by both the President and the Secretary of Defense. Now President Trump is enriching his family while imposing higher costs on working families and businesses and draining their savings. President Trump\u2019s ill-conceived war hasn\u2019t eliminated the threat from Iran or made America safer. He\u2019s accomplished none of the goals he used as a pretext for war. But every time American drivers fill up their gas tank, they are forced to pay a hefty \u2018Trump gas tax.\u2019 And every time a farmer fills up a tractor, a fisherman fills up a boat, or a trucker fills up an 18-wheeler at these elevated prices, Americans get billed for that \u2018Trump gas tax\u2019 too. This was entirely predictable and avoidable and can all be traced directly to the short-comings of President Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and others in the Trump Administration who continue to prolong this conflict without a clear strategy for success. And the \u2018Trump gas tax\u2019 is imposed at more places than just the pump: The higher shipping and transportation costs are also fueling higher prices at the grocery store and in household budgets across America. President Trump needs to end his reckless war and stop the \u2018Trump gas tax.\u2019\u201d\n\nUsing diesel, it costs the average trucker over $1,500 to fill up a Big Rig 18-wheeler with two 150-gallon side tanks. A 30-foot offshore sportfishing charter boat with a 400-gallon tank costs about $2,250 to fill up. And a 75-foot commercial fishing vessel with a 10,000-gallon fuel tank costs $56,300 to fill up at today\u2019s average diesel prices.\n\nAccording to Brown University\u2019s Iran War Cost Energy Tracker, the energy burden on American citizens \u2013 the extra costs for gas and diesel they are forced to pay because of Trump\u2019s war with Iran -- has risen to $96 billion. That means the average family has been forced to pay nearly $735 more for products due to elevated gas and diesel prices over the past six months because of Donald Trump\u2019s war.\n\nReed also pointed out that when it comes to gas prices, President Trump is seeking to blatantly mislead Americans by claiming that his so-called oil deal with Venezuela will lower gas prices. In a story titled \u201cThe U.S. Venezuela oil deal won\u2019t lower your gas prices. Here\u2019s what you need to know,\u201d NPR reports:\n\n\u201cIn a post on Truth Social, President Trump wrote that this deal will \u201csubstantially lower gas prices\u201d for American taxpayers.\n\n\u201cKepes says that the idea of this deal affecting gas prices now is \u201cabsurd.\u201d\n\n\u201cMany of the larger oil fields being discussed in the deal are still largely undeveloped. That means it will take a minimum of a few years for those fields to produce anything, Monaldi says.\u201d\n\nIt was also recently reported that Trump-promoted \u2018Freedom Fuel\u2019 gas stations, which sell below market rate gas at a network of two dozen stations in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, is being sued for selling fuel that its supplier never paid for, according to a lawsuit.", 1, "2026-09-03T09:29:33Z", "2026-09-03T09:31:32Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.reed.senate.gov/news/releases/trump-has-irresponsibly-driven-up-gas-prices-by-40-and-americans-just-experienced-the-priciest-august-at-the-pump-ever"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9505529887974262, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}