Trump faces barrage of Democratic counter-proposals on gas tax
Source: Axios · Bias: Center Left
Summary
With President Trump's proposal to suspend the gas tax facing headwinds on Capitol Hill, some Democratic lawmakers are offering alternative approaches to get fuel costs under control.Why it matters: This goes beyond a simple debate about gas prices and taps into fundamental disagreements between the two parties about which parts of society should shoulder the costs of war and inflation.Trump wants to relieve consumers' tax burden by cutting revenue to the federal government. Democrats want to redistribute any corporate profits made off the conflict in Iran.A bill set to be introduced by Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), for instance, would tax oil companies for any profits derived from selling oil at a cost of greater than $75 per barrel.Sherman's bill would impose a 100% windfall tax on those profits, according to text of the measure first obtained by Axios.That tax revenue would then be redistributed back to consumers in the form of a tax rebate.The tax would stay in effect for the duration of the war in Iran — or until oil drops below $75 per gallon.Zoom in: This is just one of several Democratic proposals to combat both inflation and what they say is wartime price gouging.Several congressional Democrats, including Sherman and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), have called for a ban on U.S. companies exporting oil in order to increase domestic supply.Nearly every Democrat in Congress has coalesced around another alternative they believe would end the supply strain keeping gas prices high: Forcing an end to the war in Iran.Reality check: The Trump administration has ruled out an oil export moratorium and ignored lawmakers' demands to end the war. There is little indication they will be any more agreeable to Sherman's windfall tax.
Related Coverage
- Billionaire Tech Mogul Peter Thiel Warns Woke AI Company Anthropic Could Rig 2028 Election for Democrats (Far Right — The Gateway Pundit)
- Trump announces new pardons after privately weighing "Diddy" clemency, sources said (Center — Politics - CBSNews.com)
- 'Total disaster' at Trump's fair as scorching heat leaves 7 on 'advanced life support' (Far Left — Raw Story)
- Trump, ballot seizures and a ‘declaration’: Gavin Newsom teases tiresome July 4 address to the state (Right — New York Post)
- 'Not mentally well': MAGA suspects Trump sabotaged by liberals armed with weather machines (Far Left — Raw Story)
- 'God is angry': Internet bemused as Mother Nature comes for Trump's Mount Rushmore speech (Far Left — Raw Story)
- ‘The second-most good-looking president’: Trump entertains on Usha Vance’s program (Far Right — WorldNetDaily)
- President Trump Reads “Presidents Play” (Far Right — The Last Refuge)
Daily Analysis
Read the full Parallax Pulse for May 12, 2026 — an AI-powered analysis of how Left and Right media covered the biggest stories this day.
More Headlines From May 12, 2026
- ‘Monetizing hate’: Alabama attorney general investigates SPLC for deceptive practices (Far Right)
- Gavin Newsom faces growing pressure to suspend California gas tax as Trump takes action (Right)
- A Chaotic and Politicized World Cup Lumbers Toward Kickoff (Center)
- Opinion | Donald Trump’s Nixon Moment (Center)
- As Trump goes to China, what do Americans say about tariffs, Iran and world standing? (Center)







