Senate Republicans are reportedly locked in an internal battle over whether to ban diesel exports as a way to bring down record fuel prices, with farm-state lawmakers squaring off against oil-state colleagues who call the idea a political stunt.
Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa is leading the charge, joined by other farm-state Republicans, in pushing a plan to halt diesel exports in order to boost domestic supply and ease prices at the pump. The strategy harkens back to the 1970s energy crisis, when U.S. leaders took similar action.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has signaled he’s open to the idea, but Republicans from oil-rich states are pushing back hard, dismissing the proposal as a “gimmick.”
The pain at the pump is landing especially hard in farm states like Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska, where soaring diesel costs are colliding with the fallout from President Trump’s ongoing trade war, which has already hit commodities such as pork and soybeans. The combination has left farmers frustrated, and some Senate Republicans worry it could translate into election losses in states that were once considered safely red.
Grassley didn’t hold back over the weekend, blasting out a message on social media demanding to know why Trump hasn’t embargoed diesel exports the way past presidents cracked down on agricultural exports when food prices spiked. He declared that high diesel prices are “killing farmers’ income.”
Iowa Rep. Ashley Hinson, locked in a tight reelection race, backed the export freeze Monday, tying rising fuel costs to Trump’s monthslong standoff with Iran. She called for suspending the gas tax, halting diesel exports and easing restrictions on higher-ethanol-blend gasoline to give consumers a break.
Thune said restricting diesel exports “makes probably more sense” to him than a gas tax holiday, which he warned would blow holes in the Highway Trust Fund. Still, he said the real fix would be reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a critical oil shipping route that has seen traffic dry up amid Iranian threats.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins met with Trump Monday to discuss the diesel price surge, while Senate Republican Whip John Barrasso said the president is weighing multiple options.
But oil-state Republicans aren’t buying it. Texas Sen. John Cornyn flatly called the export ban a “gimmick,” and the American Petroleum Institute’s Mike Sommers warned that restricting exports could actually make things worse by flooding Gulf Coast markets while straining supply elsewhere.
Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who helped lift the decades-old oil export ban a decade ago, expressed skepticism that a new ban would “move the needle” on global prices, even as she acknowledged Alaskans are paying more for diesel and heating oil than residents of any other state.
Other Republicans, including South Dakota’s Mike Rounds, argued the better fix is reopening shuttered California refineries rather than restricting exports.
National average diesel prices hit an all-time high Monday at $6.51 a gallon, up sharply from $3.52 before U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran triggered the ongoing conflict.
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