Exclusive: "Run the tape": Rep. Levin slams Trump over pledge to lower energy costs
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U.S. voters are tuned in to the idea that "their bills are too high," despite President Trump's promises to lower costs, Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.) said Tuesday while speaking at Axios House at Climate Week & UN General Assembly.
Why it matters: High gas prices stemming from the Iran War and lingering inflation are liabilities for Republicans heading into the midterms, where the party is trying to hold on to its congressional majorities.
- "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that you need to speak to people where they are, and where they are right now is their bills are too high," Levin, who represents a purplish district, told Axios' Amy Harder.
- "This president promised he would cut electric bills in half," Levin continued.
Driving the news: Levin accused Trump of not living up to his 2024 campaign trail pledges to cut energy costs.
- "You can go back and run the tape from 2024. He said you would cut your electric bill in half, and he said that gas prices would be two bucks a gallon," Levin said.
- "But what we've had with the tariffs and the war — gas is now — I just filled up my plug-in hybrid back in California. It was $6.18 a gallon, and our electric prices in California and throughout the country are extremely high as well."
Catch up quick: California tops AAA's list of the nation's 10 most expensive gasoline markets, with an average price of $6.18 on Tuesday.
- More broadly, gas prices are inching toward this year's high of $4.56, set on May 21.
- The Iran War has no end in sight, and now both the Strait of Hormuz and the Strait of Bab al-Mandab, another global chokepoint, face threats to traffic, including from the Iran-backed Houthi militia.
Go deeper: Iran war causes global pain at the pump
