Trump Sets $2.50 Gas Target After Fed Plot Fails
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- Trump posted on Truth Social demanding gasoline retailers drop prices immediately to $2.50 a gallon, citing oil at $68 a barrel and warning of "big problems" if they refuse
- AAA data shows the current national average for regular gas is $3.85 per gallon — down from $4.36 a month ago but up from $3.19 a year earlier, per BLS figures showing a 40.5% YoY gas price spike and 58.9% rise in fuel oil through May 2026
- Trump's Fed pressure campaign collapsed after Jerome Powell departed and successor Kevin Warsh declined to cut rates at his first FOMC meeting, with U.S. inflation still at 4.2% — well above the 2% target
- The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 on Monday that Trump wrongly tried to oust Fed Governor Lisa Cook without due process, with Chief Justice Roberts writing that both the fact and appearance of Fed independence must be upheld against White House interference
- BLS-cited supply shocks from the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran pushed oil prices higher and choked Middle East supply routes, but prices are now easing as the conflict appears to draw toward a conclusion — yet retail gas has stayed elevated
Why it matters: Trump's $2.50 target would be a $1.35-per-gallon cut from the current $3.85 average — a roughly 35% reduction he has no direct policy tool to enforce, making this a rhetorical escalation ahead of midterms now that the courts have blocked his Fed interference route.
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