Global oil prices fell on Wednesday to their lowest level since the war against Iran began on February 28, with Brent crude futures dropping to $73.50 a barrel, but according to President Trump oil companies are taking too long to pass their lower costs onto consumers.
“The big Oil Companies are not dropping their price at the pump commensurate with the sharply lower prices they are paying for Oil,” Trump wrote on his social media platform early Wednesday morning. “Those prices are dropping like a rock! In other words, customers are being ‘gouged.’”
Trump said he has ordered the Department of Justice to investigate the matter. “Gasoline prices better start going down a lot faster than what I’m seeing!” he warned.
An eye on November: Trump’s comments came as Republicans are expressing growing concerns about their prospects in the midterms and high fuel prices weigh heavily on voters’ minds. With Trump’s approval ratings sitting near all-time lows, Republicans are worried that voters could punish them at the polls in November in response to the basic pocketbook issue, sparked by Trump’s war of choice against Iran.
Trump addressed those concerns on Tuesday, telling supporters at a rally in Macungie, Pennsylvania, that relief is on the way. “That oil is going to come charging down,” he said. “And with oil comes everything else.”
The price of gasoline dropped below $4 a gallon last week for the first time since the start of the war, after peaking above $4.50 in May, but economists say the decline in fuel prices could be gradual and uneven, with higher prices persisting for months.
The American Petroleum Institute, which represents the major oil firms, said in response to Trump’s criticism that the industry is focused on restoring price stability. However, “gasoline prices don’t move in lockstep with crude oil, especially during a major global disruption that is still affecting supply, refining and inventories,” a spokesperson said.
Clash with Cassidy: The fallout over the Iran war was the focus of an intense showdown between Trump and Sen. Bill Cassidy at a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill Wednesday. The Republican lawmaker, who recently lost his bid for renomination after Trump backed a primary challenger, reportedly accused the president of not being honest with the American people about the war.
The showdown began when Trump expressed his annoyance that the Senate had approved a war powers resolution this week, a symbolic rebuke of the president’s actions against Iran. Trump wanted to know why lawmakers would try to limit his powers.
Cassidy told reporters what happened next: “I stood and said, ‘You have not told the American people what’s going on. It was supposed to last four weeks, it’s lasted four months. Our original objectives have not been achieved and I want to know what’s going on.’”
Trump reportedly needled Cassidy about losing his reelection bid in a heated exchange, but Cassidy said he responded forcefully. “He did not particularly care for my comments, raised his voice,” Cassidy said, referring to Trump. “I lost my temper, that’s not appropriate — it’s the Irish in me. I matched his tone and his volume and it went back and forth.”
Cassidy said he had no regrets about clashing with Trump, because “the American people need to know” about what is happening in Iran.
“It does not appear … that the course of this is going the way we were told,” Cassidy said. “So I make no apologies for standing up to the president, trying to demand that more information be shared with the Senate and more information be shared with the American people.”