President Trump vowed to cap California’s gas tax, a move that could provide long-overdue relief to drivers who continue to pay the highest gas prices in the nation.
“Gasoline in California could be $2.50,” President Trump speculated.
“We’ll do that. I would cap it. It’s unfair,” he continued to reporters in the Oval Office on Friday. It is unclear whether the president would pursue legislation through Congress or sign an executive order.
DEVELOPING: President Trump is considering a federal cap on state fuel taxes to provide relief at the pump. He highlighted California's high prices — currently the nation's second-highest at ~$4.26/gallon (behind only Hawaii) — and suggested the move could bring costs down… pic.twitter.com/lgjys8HjS9
— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) January 28, 2026
California drivers continue to pay some of the highest gasoline prices in the nation. As of mid-2025, the state’s average price hovered around $4.62 per gallon, about $1.40 higher than the national average of $3.20. This is a structural feature of California’s gas market, where prices regularly sit at least a dollar above the U.S. average.
Can President Trump Cut California’s Highest-in-the-Nation Gas Taxes?
— California Globe (@CaliforniaGlobe) January 27, 2026
Californians are paying 47% more at the pump than the rest of the nation and 61% higher than Colorado.@CaliforniaGlobe link 👇 pic.twitter.com/sLekfNIDkS
"You know, [in] Alabama, we have a lot of them that are right around $2, nobody can believe it. We’re drilling like crazy,” Trump said.
“California, whenever we reduce it … they just raise their taxes.”
At the core of California’s problem is Democratic policy, which seeks to save the environment. The state imposes the highest gas taxes in the country, totaling roughly 0.90 cents per gallon when combining the state excise tax, which rise automatically with inflation, sales taxes, and other fees. On top of that, California’s climate programs, including cap-and-trade and the Low Carbon Fuel Standard, add more than 65 cents per gallon, while the state’s unique fuel blends drive up refining costs and limit the state's supply.
“To me, it’s always double the rest of the country, which is always depressing and I’m just wondering, where it all goes?” President Trump said.
Much of that tax revenue is funneled into bloated infrastructure projects that routinely fall behind schedule and blow past their budgets.
Despite the highest transportation spending in the nation, California’s roads rank among the worst in the country. The state routinely places near the bottom, around 47th overall, with roughly 44 percent of urban roads classified as being in poor condition.
Major road projects frequently stretch five to ten years or more, weighed down by layered environmental reviews, union labor mandates, litigation from activist groups, and slow-moving permitting processes. Comparable projects in other states are often completed in between two and four years. And yet California drivers continue to pay more than $1.30 per gallon in gas taxes that are supposed to cover repair projects, nearly triple the national average.
It remains to be seen whether President Trump will follow through on capping California’s gas tax. If he does, millions of Californians, many of whom voted for him in 2024, would finally see relief from a one-party system that has punished drivers for years.
