More than a half-dozen Republican candidates and lawmakers in battleground states have urged President Trump to pause U.S. diesel exports to help reduce energy costs, reflecting the burden that rising prices have become for the party ahead of the midterms.
The scramble follows a surge in the national average price of a gallon of diesel to $6.53, up nearly 75 percent from its level in February, when the war began.
Mr. Trump said last Tuesday that his administration was exploring a diesel export ban and that he had “called for it within my people.” But Chris Wright, the energy secretary, poured cold water on the idea a day later, telling The New York Times that “Nobody wants a full blanket ban or zero exports of diesel.” Doug Burgum, the secretary of the interior, also rejected the proposal, saying two weeks ago that such a ban would not lower prices.
Diesel is crucial to the nation’s economy. It powers farm machinery, factory equipment, and the vast majority of commercial vehicles in the United States. It also fuels boilers, furnaces and water heaters in many residential buildings. Energy experts say an export ban may not lower prices because it could prompt U.S. oil refiners to slow diesel production, causing prices to rise further.
Here are some of the Republicans who have called for a ban.
Representative Tim Burchett
Representative Tim Burchett of Tennessee was among the first Republicans to propose a diesel export ban, introducing two bills to that effect on Sept. 15. One would impose an outright ban on exports through January 2027; the other would trigger a ban when the average national price hit $5 per gallon, remaining in effect until prices dropped to $4.50 per gallon or less for 30 consecutive days.
“Price gouging by greedy oil companies is causing hard-working Americans to struggle to fill their tanks,” Mr. Burchett said in a speech on the House floor, adding: “Mr. President, please call on Congress to pass this vital piece of legislation. I don’t believe Congress has the guts or the willpower to do it.”
Representative Clay Fuller, Republican of Georgia, is cosponsoring both bills.
Gov. Jeff Landry
Gov. Jeff Landry of Louisiana backed a 90-day export ban on Sept. 17.
“LET’S LOWER SOME FUEL COSTS NOW AND HELP THE ENTIRE U.S. ECONOMY,” Mr. Landry, who is not up for re-election this year, wrote in a social media post on Sept. 17. He tagged the White House, Mr. Trump, Mr. Wright and the Republican House and Senate leaders.
His state’s Republican senators, Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy, have both said they oppose a ban. “Everything I’ve read tells me it won’t do any good,” Mr. Kennedy told reporters last week.
Representative Ashley Hinson
On Sept. 21, days after she voted against a House resolution calling on Mr. Trump to withdraw U.S. forces from hostilities in Iran or seek congressional approval for the war, Representative Ashley Hinson of Iowa echoed calls by her Democratic opponent in the Senate race, Josh Turek, to end the war and stop exporting diesel.
“Iowans are being squeezed and shouldn’t have to foot the bill at the pump or the checkout line for the war in Iran,” Ms. Hinson wrote in a post on X last week. “We need to use every option at our disposal to provide some relief from high prices.”
Her post came days after Mr. Turek proposed a federal diesel embargo.
Senator Chuck Grassley
Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the longest-serving Republican in the Senate, called for a diesel ban on Sept. 19. In a social media post, he referenced past export restrictions on agricultural products that presidents in the 1970s implemented, and urged Mr. Trump to do the same. Mr. Grassley cited former President Richard Nixon’s short-lived soybean embargo in 1973, and the partial embargo on grain sales to the Soviet Union that former President Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, enacted in January 1980 as a punishment for its invasion of Afghanistan.
“High diesel prices ARE KILLING FARMERS INCOME,” Mr. Grassley wrote, in his characteristic social media shorthand.
Representative Zach Nunn
Representative Zach Nunn of Iowa, who is in a tight re-election race, joined Mr. Grassley’s call for a diesel export ban in a social media post on Sept. 21.
“We have to bring down the price of diesel,” Mr. Nunn wrote, adding emojis. “My plan: Sell American energy to Americans first. Pass my Iowa-led biofuel bill = bring down gas 50 cents. Hold Big Oil accountable for gouging.”
Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks
Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks, who is fighting to keep her Iowa battleground district red, backed a diesel export ban in a social media post on Sept. 21 that also called for an end to the Iran war.
“When a patient is hurt, you stop the bleeding first,” Ms. Miller-Meeks, a doctor, wrote in the post. “Then you fix what caused it.”
Former Representative Mike Rogers
Former Representative Mike Rogers, Michigan’s Republican Senate nominee, is trailing Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, his Democratic opponent, in the polls. Mr. Rogers, who staunchly supported Mr. Trump’s war in Iran for months, pivoted last week, calling for an immediate end to the conflict as well as a diesel export ban while it continued.
“The war in Iran needs to end to bring costs down — but Michigan families can’t afford to wait,” Mr. Rogers said in a video posted to social media on Sept. 21. “Here’s what we can do now: place a temporary embargo on Diesel exports. American energy should provide relief to American families first.”
Senator Dan Sullivan
Senator Dan Sullivan of Alaska, who is in danger of losing his seat in November, said the United States should temporarily ban diesel exports until the Iran war ended and traffic flowed freely through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial passageway for Middle East oil supplies.
“American workers are producing more diesel than they have in years, yet Alaskans are paying higher prices at the pump,” Mr. Sullivan said in a news release on Sept. 22. “American fuel should stay home with Americans. The cost of diesel is just too damn high.”
The post These Republicans Have Called on Trump to Ban Diesel Exports appeared first on New York Times.
