The White House Is Showing That Lower Gas Prices Can Fuel Our Midterm Wins

As planet Earth goes through the growing pains of de-globalization, re-globalization, or whatever we call it, one thing is simple: whoever controls oil will continue to control the world.

Now, of course, our enemies in Iran — who in one form or another have been waging war on us for 50 years — know this. They know that higher gas prices will hurt Republicans in the midterms. They know America is weaker if Democrats run it. Which means the stakes of winning the midterms are higher than they have ever been.

One hopes that our Arab partners in the Middle East understand this. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Kuwait know that it’s in their long-term interests for Republicans to win, so one hopes that they can cut the prices of their gas exports around, say, October. The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia bluntly asked President Trump to attack Iran, so one hopes that the president did some “Art of the Deal” negotiating with our wealthy Saudi partners.

So a lot of the economics of international fuel production is out of our hands. But a lot of it can be fixed here at home.

The Trump Administration is contemplating a series of exemptions that give refiners exemptions from 20-year-old sky-high biofuel mandates for blending set earlier this year. This is part of a broader pre-midterm affordability push, such as this one about beef prices, that should help make life affordable after years of post-COVID lockdown inflation driven by Biden-era policies.

What’s involved with bringing gas prices down is relatively straightforward. With the 2005 Energy Policy Act, Washington mandated the idea of ethanol subsidies. By putting corn from America’s endlessly fertile breadbasket into our cars, we could reduce both greenhouse emissions and reliance on imported oil. This was done through the Renewable Fuel Standard (or RFS), which required a certain amount of blending corn oil with gasoline.

We can go through the exact science of that if we’d like, but smarter folks already have. The bottom line is that these mandates add effectively a 44-cent tax on every gallon that’s used. If we can get gas down by 44 cents per gallon, we will save some Republican House members from losing their jobs and potentially keep control of the Senate. If we can get it down a full dollar, we might save Republican House committee chairs from losing their jobs. High gas prices are an existential threat, and the White House needs to continue to use every measure available to drive down prices.

The RFS has shown itself to be a disaster, and many conservative groups have argued for it to be phased out because it fails every goal. Oh, and we now know that putting corn into gas is actually worse for the environment than just using normal gas.

Regardless, some members of Congress are even pushing to allow the year-round sale of E15, gasoline that is 15 percent ethanol. That’s moving in the opposite direction. After the August recess, the Senate will return to its chambers come back and try to finish the Farm bill, which would install year-round sales of E15 — translating into a permanent tax on everyone who needs gasoline to survive. Also, for those who may use electric vehicles, let’s remember that airplanes, trucks, and even cargo ships rely on oil — so everybody benefits from lower gas prices.

The solution is simple: the White House must direct the EPA to reduce the RFS mandate and tell the Senate to drop the year-round E15 provision.

The world was a safer, more predictable place 20 years ago. Russia wasn’t trying to rebuild the Soviet Union, Iran would have never dared to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, China’s rise seemed benign, and Democrats were still Americans rather than all communists or jihadists. Putting concerns about greenhouse gas emissions ahead of those about national security is a luxury we can no longer afford.

Thanks to President Trump and our domestic oil producers, we're now the biggest oil-producing and exporting country in the world. There is no reason gas prices should be as high as they are, and if Republicans can’t fix that, Americans will let us know at the ballot box this November.

Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and bold policies, America’s economy is back on track.

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