Can President Trump Cut California’s Highest-in-the-Nation Gas Taxes?

The national average price for a gallon of gas today is $2.88, AAA reports. 

The average price for a gallon of gas today in California is $4.25. The highest price for a gallon of gas in California is in Mono County at $5.56.

Once again, California’s gas taxes make the state’s gas the highest priced in the country, except for Hawaii’s, which today is $4.41, and arrives by tanker ship to the island state. Most of 2025, California’s gas was even higher priced than Hawaii’s.

Eleven states have gas priced at $2.41 to $2.56., including Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Alabama.

Yet, despite having the 5th largest reserves in the U.S., California imports over 67% of its oil needs from foreign countries.

The California Post is reporting that President Trump is considering a cap on state fuel tax that would offer serious relief to California’s long-suffering drivers.

“In an exclusive interview with The California Post, the president said his plan could see drivers pay 40% less at the pump.”

“Gasoline in California could be $2.50,” he said.

In December, the Globe reported the bad news from California where Governor Gavin Newsom was doubling down on his electric car mandates:

The nation’s top 10 most expensive gasoline markets are Hawaii ($4.43), California ($4.33), Washington ($3.96), Alaska ($3.59), Oregon ($3.57), Nevada ($3.46), Washington, DC ($3.17), Arizona ($3.13), Pennsylvania ($3.12), and New York ($3.08).

The nation’s top 10 least expensive gasoline markets are Oklahoma ($2.34), Arkansas ($2.46), Iowa ($2.47), Colorado ($2.49), Wisconsin ($2.51), Texas ($2.51), Mississippi ($2.52), Louisiana ($2.52), Kansas ($2.52), and Tennessee ($2.52).

California has forced refineries to close, and consequently California’s dependency on foreign oil, gasoline, and jet fuel from Iraq, India and China are increasing, USC Professor Michael Mische recently reported for the Globe.

“Californians are paying 47% more at the pump than the rest of the nation and 61% higher than Colorado. California also has the second highest residential electric utility rates in the nation,” Prof. Mische said.

He added, “Collectively, Californians pay over $1.44 a gallon in state and local taxes and fees, which is the highest in the U.S.”

He continues:

“Where once California produced over 70% of its crude oil needs, today the Golden State is the most reliant in the nation on foreign oil. Despite having the 5^th largest reserves in the U.S., California imports over 67% of its oil needs from countries such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Ecuador, and Brazil. Brazil has destroyed over 24 million acres of rainforest. On average, GHG emissions from crude oil production from foreign sources such as India and Iraq are ten times (10x) greater than that of a California producer. 

President Trump and his Administration recognize the gravity of the “California Contagion” and its adverse impact not only on the hardworking people of the Golden State but also Nevada, Arizona, and national security. That’s why President Trump designated the pipelines interstate and brought them under the purview of the federal government…they are essential to the United States.”

That the President could intervene can only help California’s drivers. “How exactly Trump might impose a cap on state taxes is unclear, though there are some obvious options,” the CA Post said. “Federal legislation is one clear avenue, though narrow Republican control in both chambers of Congress would make a standalone bill difficult, particularly due to the Senate’s usual 60-vote threshold for cloture.”

Meanwhile, Professor Mische says the only way to actually improve California’s oil and gas crisis, is by increasing in-state crude production and supporting critical pipelines. He says this is necessary to keeping the surviving refineries operating in California and oil flowing in the pipelines.

“It is also essential to Nevada and Arizona, and U.S. national security. Failing to do so will only lead to more refinery closures in 2027 and 2028, crippling California’s economy and those of Nevada and Arizona, and compromising U.S. force readiness and national security.”

The Post reports that “Trump scoffed at the notion that California needed the revenue to pay for infrastructure such as highways.”

“There is no infrastructure. It’s one of the most incompetent governments. It’s maybe as incompetent as Minnesota, which is saying a lot,” Trump said.

“We’re drilling more oil today than we’ve ever drilled before, and all the other states are taking advantage of it, but California, every time the price goes down, they just raise it, they just get more taxes.”

In the meantime, California drivers hope President Trump can cut California’s high gas taxes without eliciting more lawsuits from Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta, who announced their 55th lawsuit against the Trump administration last week.

Prof. Mische said AG Bonta’s and Governor Newsom’s latest lawsuit against the Trump Administration’s permitting the use of an essential interstate crude oil pipeline is a desperate response to pressure from environmental and special interest groups, as well as a last gasp attempt to justify their failed policies which have resulted in Californians paying 47% more at the pump than the rest of the nation.

“Other states have virtually no local gas taxes,” the Post reported. “The combined federal and state gas tax is just 20 cents in Texas and 25 cents in New York.”

California at one time produced over 70% of its crude oil needs, however today is the most reliant in the nation on foreign oil, despite having the 5^th largest reserves in the U.S.