US President Donald Trump has instructed the Department of Justice to immediately probe oil companies for not lowering gas prices at the pump in line with falling costs.
Trump did not name any companies in his post on TruthSocial. His remarks come after the price of oil fell from peaks seen during the US-Israel war with Iran but remain higher than before the conflict started.
“The big Oil Companies are not dropping their price at the pump commensurate with the sharply lower prices they are paying for Oil. Those prices are dropping like a rock! In other words, customers are being ‘gouged.’ I have instructed the DOJ to immediately start looking into this. Gasoline prices better start going down a lot faster than what I’m seeing!”
Donald Trump
Trump’s war in Iran and Tehran’s subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz rocked global markets and sent energy prices soaring, resulting in higher gas prices for Americans at the pump. That has translated into concerns that consumers may punish Republicans in November’s midterm elections.
However, prices have eased in recent weeks amid peace talks, and more relief followed the news of an interim deal that would include reopening the crucial waterway, through which one-fifth of global oil supply is moved.
Gas prices in the U.S. fell last week below $4 per gallon for the first time since March, bringing a measure of relief to consumers. Oil prices fell more than 1% on Wednesday, extending this week’s losses to trade near four-month lows on signs that more stranded oil tankers were set to move out of the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. crude closed at $73.21 Tuesday, just $6.19 higher than the day before the U.S. struck Iran. That’s a drop of more than 36% since their peak in April.
Trump sought to reassure voters at a key Pennsylvania swing district on Tuesday that costs are coming down and that they are better off than they were two years ago.
Trump Slams Senate’s War Powers Resolution
Separately, the US President criticised the Senate’s approval of a war powers resolution directing him to halt any military action against Iran.
“So, I have Iran on the ‘ropes,’ ready to go down for the fall, willing to give us practically anything, and for the first time in decades, respecting the hell out of the United States and its President, ME, and the U.S. Senate decides to have a poorly timed and meaningless War Powers Act Vote, telling the Number One Sponser [sic] of Terror in the World that the United States doesn’t like what I am doing to them, and I must stop, and by so doing has provided aid and comfort the Enemy.”
Donald Trump
His remarks come after the United States Senate passed a resolution calling for President Donald Trump to either halt his military campaign against Iran or seek congressional approval before any further action is taken. The chamber voted 50 to 48 to pass the resolution, which had been approved in the House of Representatives earlier in the month.
The vote marked the first time a war powers resolution had successfully passed both chambers of Congress. However, the effort is largely symbolic and is not expected to become law.
The war powers resolution “directs the President to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran.” Only if “explicitly authorised by a declaration of war or a specific congressional authorisation” would Trump be allowed to use further military force against Iran. The resolution, however, does allow for limited military presence to remain in the Middle East, in order to prevent any “imminent attack” against the US or its allies.
Republicans hold a majority in the Senate, but four conservatives crossed party lines to approve the resolution, along with nearly all the chamber’s Democrats, except one.
The breakaway Republicans included Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky. A further two Republicans did not vote: Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania. The lone Democrat to side with Republicans on the matter was Pennsylvania’s John Fetterman.
Trump went on to slam the four Republican legislators who voted with the Democrats to approve the resolution, saying, “These Senators have just made my job more difficult, but I will get it done, one way or the other, because I always get it done!”
Critics of the resolution pointed to the ongoing negotiations as a reason to scuttle the resolution’s passage. some Republican senators warned the war powers resolution would weaken Trump’s standing in the Switzerland negotiations.“If this passes, the Iranians are going to simply stand up and walk away from negotiations,” Senator James Risch of Idaho told the Senate chamber.
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