President Trump broke publicly Monday with his Energy Secretary over when Americans can expect relief at the gas pump, telling reporters Chris Wright is “totally wrong” after Wright predicted prices might not come down until 2027.
“I think he’s wrong on that. Totally wrong,” Trump told The Hill.
Gas prices have climbed above $4 per gallon nationally since Trump launched Operation Epic Fury against Iran, reaching their highest average since June 2022. Wright told CNN Sunday that prices above $3 could persist into next year. Trump pushed back, saying costs would start dropping “as soon as this ends,” pointing to the ongoing conflict with Iran.
The dispute came the same day Iran reimposed its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, collapsing a short-lived ceasefire that had briefly sent oil prices below $90 per barrel last week. Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces attacked two oil tankers over the weekend, and shipping through the strait halted again. Brent crude jumped back above $95 per barrel Monday morning.
The reversal exposed the fragile nature of Friday’s agreement. Both Washington and Tehran had announced the strait was open after backchannel talks, with Trump claiming a nuclear deal was close. That optimism evaporated within 48 hours.
Trump said he feels “no pressure whatsoever” to rush into a deal. “Time is not my adversary,” he wrote on Truth Social. “The only thing that matters is that we finally, after 47 years, straighten out the MESS that other Presidents let happen because they didn’t have the Courage or Foresight to do what had to be done with respect to Iran.”
Wright did not dispute that prices have peaked. “Prices have likely peaked and they will start going down,” he told CNN. “Certainly, with a resolution of this conflict, you will see prices go down.” He stopped short of predicting when resolution would come.
