Senate Rick Scott says gas prices ‘are going to be up for a while’ by Max Rego - 03/11/26 1:13 PM ET by Max Rego - 03/11/26 1:13 PM ET Share ✕ LinkedIn LinkedIn Email Email NOW PLAYING Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said Wednesday that gas prices will stay above prior levels until the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran ends.  “I think, unfortunately, prices are going to be up for a while until this ends. But with Venezuela coming on, with American oil and gas coming on, with hopefully a positive resolution to this conflict, then prices will come down even further,” Scott told host Kate Bolduan on “CNN News Central.” Just more than three weeks ago, President Trump touted lower gas prices during his State of the Union address . But more than a week and a half into the conflict with Iran, prices at the pump for Americans are increasing daily on account of rising oil costs globally. The national average price of a gallon of regular gas is nearly $3.58 as of Wednesday, a jump of nearly $0.05 from Tuesday and more than $0.60 from a month ago, according to AAA .  Trump has threatened Iran against slowing shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which it has already done — over the last 24 hours, 12 ships have gone through the passageway, an increase relative to earlier this week but still far less than the typical daily average of 60 ships, according to hormuzstraitmonitor.com . The president also said over the weekend that a “short term” uptick in oil prices “is a very small price to pay” for “safety and peace” in the Middle East. Scott echoed that sentiment, telling CNN, “We’d love to get gas prices back down, but the most important thing is [to] destroy Iran’s ability to produce a nuclear weapon, destroy their military, their ballistic missile capability.” “We all want gas prices to come down. Nobody wants gas prices higher. This president doesn’t want gas prices higher. But we have to be realistic,” the Florida Republican added. But other Republicans on Capitol Hill, with the midterms less than seven months away, are concerned about rising prices .  “If we are still bombing Iran with kinetic action — people don’t want to call it war — if there’s still kinetic action that causes oil to be over $100, I think you’re going to see a disastrous election [for Republicans],” Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told host Maria Bartiromo on Fox Business’s “ Mornings with Maria ” on Tuesday. Add as preferred source on Google Tags Donald Trump Kate Bolduan Maria Bartiromo Rand Paul Rick Scott Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Share ✕ LinkedIn LinkedIn Email Email More Senate News See All Campaign Hern launches Senate bid for Mullin’s Oklahoma seat by Sarah Fortinsky 6 minutes ago Campaign  /  6 minutes ago