Texas Republicans snipe at each other over Trump's gas relief plan

President Donald Trump's call for suspending the gas tax in response to fuel price inflation driven by the war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has pitted a number of prominent Republicans against each other — and one place where it's all unfolding is in Texas, one of the largest producers of oil in the country and a place where consumers are used to dirt-cheap prices at the pump.

For one thing, conflict is brewing between Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and lame-duck state Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, who was ousted from re-nomination in his primary earlier this year. Miller reacted to the news of Trump advocating a suspension of the federal gas tax by putting out a statement calling on Abbott to suspend the state one.

“Several weeks ago, I called on both Texas Governor Abbott and President Trump to temporarily suspend both the state and federal motor fuels tax in order to provide relief to hardworking families who are struggling due to this brief period of higher than usual gasoline prices," said Miller, who has faced public corruption scandals throughout his time in office. "Governors in Indiana, Georgia, and Utah have already stepped up to provide relief for their citizens, and I once again renew my call for Governor Abbott to follow the lead of President Trump and act decisively for Texas families."

Abbott, however, punched back with a statement of his own.

"There's a reason Sid Miller lost his election, it's because he doesn't shoot straight with Texans," said Andrew Mahaleris, Abbott's press secretary. "Any suggestion that the Texas governor is authorized by law to suspend a gas tax is entirely uninformed or purposefully misleading. If the Texas governor could suspend taxes, he would have suspended the property tax years ago."

This comes after Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico put Sen. John Cornyn in a massively awkward spot by endorsing a gas tax holiday ahead of Trump doing the same.