White House insists plan in place to mitigate impact of “short-term disruptions” to fuel prices

Asked by CBS News on Thursday about concerns within the administration over soaring jet fuel prices and consequentially rising airfares, White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said President Trump and his energy team “anticipated these short-term disruptions to the global energy markets from Operation Epic Fury and had a plan prepared to mitigate these disruptions.”

In her statement, Rogers said the plans included temporarily waiving the Jones Act “to let energy flow more freely to U.S. ports,” adding that Trump administration officials were continuing to “work closely with the private sector and industry to address their concerns, explore potential actions, and inform the President’s policy decisions.”

“As President Trump continues to exert maximum leverage over Iran with the ongoing successful blockade to bring this conflict to an end, we will see global energy markets stabilize and gas prices plummet back to the multi-year lows Americans enjoyed prior to the start of Operation Epic Fury,” Rogers said.

A White House official said waiving the Jones Act, which restricts shipping traffic between U.S. ports to only U.S.-made and operated vessels, had enabled around 9 million barrels of American oil to reach domestic destinations in multiple states and prevented U.S. businesses from having to rely on imports.

The statement came after a report by the Wall Street Journal said advisers close to Mr. Trump were voicing concern about high fuel prices as a result of the war. The Journal said Chris Sununu, who leads the Airlines for America trade association, had warned Treasury Secretary Bessent that airfares would continue to spike if the war didn’t end soon.