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Photo: Alex Wong / Getty Images

President Trump endorsed a 25-cent gas tax hike to pay for infrastructure at a White House meeting this morning with senior administration officials and members of Congress from both parties, according to two sources with direct knowledge. Trump also said he was open to other ways to pay for infrastructure, according to a source with direct knowledge. 

Reality check: Trump’s gas tax idea appears dead on arrival. Republicans aren’t about to hike taxes for the Trump voters driving their pickup trucks to work every day. It’s a regressive tax and in Republicans’ minds would undo some of working and middle class tax cuts they just passed.

Paul Ryan in 2015:

"Ever since 2008, the trust fund has spent more than it took in. And the reason is simple: People have been using less gas. They’re driving more fuel-efficient cars. You get a lot more miles to the gallon than you used to. And so gas just doesn’t track use as well as it used to. And we can’t just chase fuel efficiency with higher taxes." 

The gas tax is currently 18.4 cents a gallon for gas and 24.4 cents for diesel. It was last raised in 1993.

Per a White House official:

  • "As Sec. Chao mentioned yesterday, the President is focused on his 4 priorities: spurring $1.5 trillion of infrastructure investment, cutting down the burdensome permitting process from 10 years to 2, providing funding for rural infrastructure, and investing in workforce development. He has said everything is on the table in order to achieve those goals."
  • "The gas tax has its pros and cons, and that’s why the President is leading a thoughtful discussion on the right way to solve our nation’s infrastructure problems."

Get more stories like this by signing up for our weekly political lookahead newsletter, Axios Sneak Peek. 

Go deeper

22 mins ago - World

U.S. Special Forces conduct raid in Syria

U.S. Department of Defense Press Secretary John Kirby. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

U.S. Special Operations forces successfully conducted a counterterrorism mission in northwest Syria on Thursday, the Pentagon said.

Details: "There were no U.S. casualties," Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a brief statement, adding more information would be provided as it became available.

  • British monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said nine people died in the strike, including two children and a woman. Representatives for the Pentagon did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.

Editor's note: This a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

Over 3,700 flights canceled as monster winter storm slams much of U.S.

A power outage leaves a traffic signal inoperable around rush hour during a winter storm warning in Detroit, Michigan, on Wednesday. Photo: Matthew Hatcher/Bloomberg via Getty Images

A sprawling winter storm that's forced school closures and massively disrupted road and air travel will continue to impact the Central, Eastern and Southern U.S. over the next few days, forecasters warn.

What's happening: Multiple governors have declared states of emergency, as heavy snow and freezing rain pummeled much of the country and the South braced for potentially dangerous ice accumulations. Winter storm and ice warnings were affecting over 90 million people from New Mexico to Canada.

73 Confederate statues removed or renamed last year

Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

73 Confederate statues were removed or renamed in 2021, according to a new report from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC.)

Driving the news: The removals and renaming of the statues began in the wake of protests against police violence and racism in 2020, which put a renewed focus on the monuments.