House

Johnson underscores concern about gas prices as midterms approach

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by Sophia Vento - 05/17/26 12:05 PM ET

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by Sophia Vento - 05/17/26 12:05 PM ET

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House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Sunday reiterated his concerns about high gas prices as the GOP looks to hang on to its slim majority in the lower chamber this November.

Since the war in Iran began in late February, gas prices have skyrocketed, with Tehran effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz. In a Sunday interview with Shannon Bream on “Fox News Sunday,” Johnson said the ongoing “economic trouble” facing Americans is “related directly to the Strait of Hormuz.”

“Really, all points lead back to that,” he said, referencing the key waterway. “Gas prices are too high because of that, and then that has an effect on how goods are transported to the grocery store and all the rest.”

According to AAA, the national gas price average is about $4.50 as of Sunday, and Republicans on Capitol Hill have been scrambling for legislative wins as concerns about affordability — including high fuel prices — threaten to become a liability on the campaign trail.

Johnson acknowledged this reality in his Sunday interview on Fox News, arguing that once the Strait of Hormuz is “straightened out” the conference “will get back to the kitchen table issues.”

“And so we’re really excited, anxious for that to be resolved so that people will feel that, and I think they will before they go vote in the midterms,” he added. The House currently holds a 217-212 majority.

On Friday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright suggested the Strait will reopen “sometime this summer at the latest.”

“Now, traffic will be flowing through the Straits of Hormuz, you know, as soon as we can, but certainly sometime this summer at the latest,” Wright told CNBC, later adding that a deal could be struck at the earliest “in the next few days.”

In the meantime, Trump has floated suspending the federal gas tax, which some GOP lawmakers have also backed. Democrats have largely opposed this plan over concerns that it could negatively impact the Highway Trust Fund.

Still, with the midterm elections less than six months away, high prices at the pump could negatively impact the GOP at the ballot box. Polling from late last month suggests that most Americans blame Trump for the surge in fuel prices, and political observers warn of voter backlash against the party at the polls.

Earlier this week, Johnson stated that the conflict has put “a little damper” on the GOP’s messaging around affordability.

“We’ve done everything — the Republican Party, under President Trump’s leadership — have done everything that we possibly can to reverse the maddening inflation of the [former President] Biden years that was at 40-year highs, and all of the gross misspending of the last several years, to get the economy back humming again,” he told reporters Wednesday. “And we’ve done that in the Big Beautiful Bill, the Working Families Tax Cut, infused with pro-growth policies.”

“The conflict with Iran has put a little damper on that,” the Speaker added. “Now, as soon as that’s resolved, I agree with the Treasury Secretary, I agree with the president, you’re going to have an alleviation of the pain at the pump, and you’re going to have prices come down overall.”

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