Campaign Spicer: High gas prices this summer would ‘spell trouble’ for GOP by Sarah Davis - 03/13/26 11:53 AM ET by Sarah Davis - 03/13/26 11:53 AM ET Share ✕ LinkedIn LinkedIn Email Email NOW PLAYING Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer warned that a hike in gas prices this summer resulting from the U.S. military operations in Iran could “spell trouble” for Republicans in the midterm elections.  In an interview with NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo on Thursday, the former Trump official expressed his hope that the operation would be short-lived, but he expressed concerns about political ramifications for the GOP if the conflict persists and drives up gas costs “into April or May.” “If we’re getting into summer travel season and people are saying it’s costing me twice as much to fill up the car or I’m driving Uber to make ends meet and it’s not even yielding anything for me, that’s going to spell trouble,” Spicer said. “So Republicans have to explain what we’re doing and then put a plan together to get us out of this sooner rather than later.” The price of petroleum has fluctuated in recent days as a result of the U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iran. The military operations have all but halted flow of tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, cutting off about 20 percent of the world’s supplies. On Thursday evening, the Trump administration temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian oil to offset these rising costs. The move authorizes nations to purchase Russian oil through April 11.  Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the decision in a post on the social media platform X, noting the “narrowly tailored” measure applies only to Russian oil “already in transit.”  He said the move “will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government, which derives the majority of its energy revenue from taxes assessed at the point of extraction.” This change has been met with opposition from Democrats, who point to reports that Russia has been providing Iran with information to help them target and strike U.S. bases in the Gulf Nations.  The Democratic members of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs requested a congressional hearing with Bessent earlier this week after President Trump originally lifted sanctions only on the sale of Russian oil to India.  “The Trump administration cannot simultaneously claim to be prioritizing U.S. military operations while offering sanctions relief to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, ” the legislators wrote in a joint letter on Wednesday. Add as preferred source on Google Tags Chris Cuomo Scott Bessent Sean Spicer Vladimir Putin Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Share ✕ LinkedIn LinkedIn Email Email More Campaign News See All Campaign Bice declines to run for Oklahoma Senate seat by Julia Mueller 49 minutes ago Campaign  /  49 minutes ago