politics
Trump Administration Urges State Attorneys General to Investigate High Gas Prices
The Trump administration sent a letter last week asking state attorneys general to assist federal probes into alleged antitrust and consumer protection violations tied to elevated gasoline prices. washingtontimes.com reported the details July 7, 2026. The request follows a four-month U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran that drove national average prices above $4 a gallon.
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The Trump administration sent a letter last week urging state attorneys general to join federal investigators examining alleged antitrust and consumer protection violations that have kept gasoline prices elevated. Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward Jr. and FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson signed the letter.
It advised states to use all available tools to investigate and prosecute misconduct under state antitrust and consumer protection statutes. -Israeli war against Iran. President Trump signed a preliminary deal last month establishing a 60-day cease-fire and reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
National average gasoline prices surpassed $4 a gallon during the conflict and stood at about $3.80 when the letter was sent, up from $2.98 at the start of the war. In late June, President Trump posted on social media that he had directed the Justice Department to begin investigating price gouging immediately.
He stated that big oil companies were not passing along lower oil costs to consumers at the pump.
FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson encouraged states to review whether enforcement is warranted under their price-gouging laws during periods of market disruption. The DOJ Antitrust Division and FTC do not enforce laws aimed specifically at price gouging.
Over three dozen states and the District of Columbia maintain such statutes. said the Antitrust Division will use all available tools to ensure that companies are held accountable for unlawfully manipulating the market.
