Wright says Trump administration has not broken promise to lower gas prices amid Iran war

Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Sunday said the Trump administration has not broken its promise to lower gas prices as the Iran war stretches into its eighth month.

CNN’s Dana Bash asked Wright on “State of the Union” about his predictions early in the conflict that gas prices would decline “within weeks, not months,” and, with prices still high, asked if the administration has let Americans down.

“No, we haven’t,” Wright said. “And, Dana, I think you should be –– yes, I think you’re well aware of that. The Iranian government killed 30,000 to 40,000 of their own citizens in January of this year before the conflict. Are you comfortable with a nuclear-armed Iranian regime that’s in power right now? I don’t think anyone is comfortable with that.”

“And when we discussed in March, I said the conflict part, the active war that we were –– the active attacks we were making would be over in four or five or six weeks, and they were,” Wright said. “Gasoline prices did come down. They never got remotely close to $5 a gallon, over $5 a gallon.”

Bash pressed the secretary on whether he is comfortable with where gas prices are, prompting him to reply, “No, of course I’m not comfortable but I’m happy they’re coming down.”

“They have gone down the last few weeks, as have diesel prices, and they will continue to come down. That’s what President Trump works on every day,” he added.

The average cost of gas in the U.S. is $4.29 on Sunday, according to AAA . Last year, the average was $3.04.

But some states have seen gas prices soar over $5 since the Iran war began, notably in the western U.S. The average in the state of Washington is $5.39, $5.40 in Nevada, $5.63 in Hawaii and $6.18 in California, with some gas stations in the Los Angeles area peaking over $7 .

Wright said in May that he was avoiding making predictions on when gas prices would lower, having predicted in March that gas prices would dive below $3 by summer but that there were “no guarantees.” He said the following month that gas prices may not fall below $3 until 2027, which drew criticism from Trump, who called Wright “totally wrong. “

Trump earlier this month announced a diesel deal with Russia that Russia would “immediately” supply 300,000 tons of diesel to the U.S. and global marketplace, with another 500,000 tons coming in November. This was prompted by the rising cost of diesel, which AAA estimates the U.S. average is $6.53.

But the deal drew outcry from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle after approving a sanctions package on Russia amid its war with Ukraine. Some experts say that the release of Russian oil into the marketplace may not lower the cost of diesel in the U.S.

“The announced Russian diesel volumes are a small fraction, less than 5 percent, of U.S. diesel demand over the next few months, so they should have very limited impact on U.S. retail prices,” Isabelle Gilks, principal analyst for retail fuels at Wood Mackenzie, previously told The Hill in a statement.