Republicans scrambling to defend themselves on gas prices: 'Can't come up with anything'

Congressional Republicans are struggling to defend rising gas prices after years of using fuel costs as a political weapon against Democrats, with some lawmakers reversing previous messaging while others remain silent on the issue.

Gas prices have surged nearly 50 percent since President Donald Trump launched the war with Iran on Feb. 28, and the spike presents a sharp reversal for Republicans who spent years blaming former President Joe Biden for rising fuel costs, reported NOTUS.

“Isn’t that the only argument you can have right now?” said one Republican operative involved in midterm contests. “It affects our voters more than their voters. We live farther apart from each other ... You hope and pray it’s temporary.”

Some Republicans have attempted to minimize the current price increases by comparing them to higher prices under Biden. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) claimed on CNBC that gas prices under Biden reached "almost $6 a gallon," a figure that even conservative host Joe Kernen disputed as inaccurate.

Vulnerable Republicans facing reelection are employing various strategies. Rep. Tom Barrett (R-MI), who previously warned Michigan families about high gas prices, now redirects questions about current prices to Iran's nuclear program.

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) shifted from 2024 campaign messaging about cost-of-living crises to claiming Washington brought prices down, later telling CNN that higher prices were "absolutely worth it" for the Iran war.

Other lawmakers have opted for silence. Reps. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ), María Elvira Salazar (R-FL), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) and David Valadao (R-CA) have largely avoided public comments on the issue despite running 2024 campaigns emphasizing gas and grocery costs.

GOP operatives worry the issue will become ingrained in voters' minds before the Fourth of July, preventing recovery even if prices decline later. Democrats are capitalizing on the shift, with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee declaring vulnerable Republicans "got caught in a lie" and promising to keep gas prices "front and center" through November's midterms.

A senior Senate GOP aide rejected the comparison to Biden-era prices as ineffective, noting high fertilizer costs compound the problem in farm states, and Republican strategists acknowledge that arguing the price hikes are temporary can only go so far with voters.

"I can't with a straight face come up with anything better," said the Republican operative working on midterm campaigns.