Although President Donald Trump has managed to navigate the military operation in Iran without sending gas prices through the roof, Americans have been experiencing some extra pain at the pump in recent weeks.
But instead of focusing all of the finger-pointing entirely on negotiations surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum recently explained that there’s plenty of blame to go around right here in the US.
The Hill reported on his recent remarks:
“The price of gasoline varies across our whole country largely right now by state policy and state taxes, not by the underlying fundamentals,” Burgum told Fox News’s Aishah Hasnie.
ADVERTISEMENTBurgum pointed to several states’ push to rely on more renewable sources of energy. He specifically pointed to California, saying its position as the state with the highest U.S. gas averages is “self-inflicted.”
“They are going to have high prices,” Burgum said. “You can thank [California Gov.] Gavin Newsom for that and the state legislature for the policies they put in. That has nothing to do with the Strait of Hormuz.”
A number of factors contribute to California’s hefty fuel costs, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The state has the highest gasoline taxes in the nation, more stringent clean energy requirements and has limited refineries.
Similar policies in other blue states continue to exacerbate the discrepancy of gas prices in regions across the country:
Gas prices nation wide as of 0828 EST
Note: Blue states and cities have the highest prices.
If democrats win in the midterms except prices to go back up. They want to do away with fossil fuels altogether. pic.twitter.com/gBlUDyZp1r— GearHead HP (@grhdhp) June 14, 2026
Current highest-price states: (per gal)
California: about $5.79–$5.87
Washington: about $5.61
Hawaii: about $5.58
Alaska: about $5.18
Oregon: about $5.10
Nevada: about $5.01Texas:: about $3.56
Hawaii is cheaper and has to SHIP crude from Alaska (2600 miles)!
Asshole. https://t.co/Top2OGg7hA
— TwistedTexan (@TwistedTexanDFW) June 13, 2026
Meanwhile, here’s what the commander in chief has been doing behind closed doors to keep prices as low as possible for all Americans:
🚨 BREAKING: In a massive move, President Trump reveals the US has TAKEN OUT over 100 MILLION OIL BARRELS through the Strait of Hormuz at his direction
USA HAS TOTAL CONTROL! 🇺🇸
"Last month, I directed our Great U.S. Military to execute a secret mission to support Oil Tankers… pic.twitter.com/7YZSuTKTsQ
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) June 10, 2026
And as KING5 reported, oil prices are continuing to moderate along with tensions in the Middle East:
Fuel prices in the U.S. continue to drop, spurred on by President Donald Trump’s repeated assurances that there will be a peace deal with Iran in the near future, even as the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed to ship traffic.
ADVERTISEMENTThursday, Trump called off planned strikes against Iran he had announced earlier in the day, part of a U.S. response to a helicopter downed near the strait at the beginning of the week.
Trump has said multiple times in recent weeks that the warring parties have been on the cusp of a deal without anything coming to fruition. A spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry said in a live phone call on state television that mediators were active and nothing had been finalized to end the conflict that began Feb. 28 when the U.S. and Israel jointly attacked Iran.
Here’s a clip of Burgum’s Fox News appearance:
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