White House Assures Voters Gas Prices Will Go Down In Summer Despite ‘short-term Volatility’

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday said he’s “optimistic” that retail gasoline prices will hit the $3 range some time this summer, a later date than the Trump administration previously floated.

“I'm optimistic that during the summer we will see gas with a 3 in front of it sooner rather than later,” the Treasury secretary continued, putting the timeline specifically between “June 20 and September 20.”

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said a month ago on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that there was a “very good chance” gas would fall under $3 “by” the summer.

The national average for gas has spiked in the past month due to President Donald Trump’s war in Iran, with the national average going above $4 a gallon for the first time since 2022. The increase is due in part to Tehran closing the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for shipment of oil and other commodities out of the Middle East. Though the U.S. does not primarily rely on oil shipments transiting through the strait, global energy economics have meant impacts to U.S. oil and gasoline prices.

Bessent said the exact timeline for a decrease in gas prices will be “up to how the negotiations go” with Iran.

The U.S. is continuing discussions with Iran to potentially set up a second round of talks after the first round, led by Vice President JD Vance, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, did not lead to an agreement Saturday.

Both Bessent and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the broader economic impact caused by the ongoing conflict is a temporary effect of what she argued is a worthwhile war in Iran.

“The message is the short-term volatility for long-term gain,” Bessent said.

Trump sees the war as a “short-term disruption for the long-term strategic goal of the United States to ensure that the world's leading state sponsor of terror cannot obtain a nuclear weapon,” Leavitt said.

“That's a good thing for the American people. That's a good thing for people all over the world," she said. "And as the president and his economic and energy team have repeatedly stated, as soon as the operation and now the negotiations with Iran conclude and the strait is reopened, we do expect gas prices to decrease.”