Trump announces he’ll use Defense Production Act to increase domestic gas production

President Trump invoked the Defense Production Act on Thursday, announcing that the government would be spending $150 million toward boosting domestic gas and diesel production as the White House looks to ease consumer pain at the gas pump.

The announcement was made in a presidential memorandum earlier on Thursday, but the president detailed the exact amount of spending expected during a campaign rally in Sioux City, Iowa.

The Cold War-era law gives the president broad powers to increase production of resources within the U.S. for national defense purposes.

The Energy Department in a press release noted that the injection of cash was “expected to increase U.S. refining output by millions of gallons per day.”

Trump has announced several different measures aimed at addressing high gas prices, which have shot up amid the U.S. war with Iran.

The president was in Iowa to rally for Republican candidates running for governor and Senate, Zach Lahn and Rep. Ashley Hinson respectively, who are locked in tight battles.

The high gas prices, Trump’s low approval ratings and the high costs of other goods as a result of the Trump administration’s tariff war with Canada have put a number of more traditionally Republican states in play for the midterms.

Those issues are particularly acute in agriculture-driven states like Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas who are grappling with high gas prices and high fertilizer prices.

Trump earlier this month announced a deal with Russia to have the country import 300,000 tons of diesel to the U.S. and global marketplace — an announcement that drew backlash from Democrats and Republicans alike.

During a rally in Kansas earlier this week, the president announced a separate $8 billion Harvest Fuel Relief Program aimed at easing diesel costs for farmers.