Zeldin Tells Newsmax Gas Price Trends Are Moving in the Right Direction

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin told Newsmax on Monday that gasoline price trends are moving in the right direction as the administration presses domestic production, deregulation, and temporary fuel waivers against still-elevated pump prices. The comments came on Newsmax TV as the national average for regular gasoline sat near $4.42 a gallon on GasBuddy data after a 1.6-cent weekly decline, and as AAA put the average closer to $4.48. Both series remain more than $1.30 above a year earlier. Diesel averaged about $6.45 a gallon after a 4.1-cent weekly drop.

Zeldin’s appearance followed a same-day post in which he said no one had worked harder than President Trump to “unleash energy dominance,” that U.S. production and exports were at record levels and on pace to rise further in 2027, and that the EPA had delivered more than $1.6 trillion in deregulatory relief. The agency in August, in consultation with the Energy Department, issued an emergency Reid Vapor Pressure waiver that ended the federal summer-blend gasoline requirement two weeks early, starting Sept. 1, to add hundreds of thousands of barrels a day to supply. The waiver also covered state-level summer controls in Texas, Arizona, and California for the maximum 20 days allowed. Zeldin said at the time that Trump had prioritized affordable gasoline and that EPA would monitor supplies.

GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan said prices fell last week in slightly more than half the states. The Great Lakes led the declines after a major refinery restarted. The West Coast moved the other way after refinery problems. Indiana and Texas posted the lowest state averages near $3.88. California remained the highest at about $6.32. AAA said autumn normally brings lower prices but that Strait of Hormuz volatility and high crude costs were still holding the September average above the prior September record. Oil was holding below $100 a barrel in recent sessions after earlier spikes above that mark.

Trump told reporters Monday that Iran “will never have a nuclear weapon,” that the war would end “very soon,” and that “the gas prices will come tumbling down.” He separately said oil prices would fall after the election and that he thought gasoline could go below $2 a gallon. Energy adviser Jarrod Agen said last week that affordability remained “the top issue that the president looks at” and pointed to strained refining capacity even as more crude reached the market. The White House has weighed a temporary diesel export ban. Refinery utilization has been near 98 percent. The midterms are five weeks away. Pump prices are still far above last September even after the week’s modest dip.