{"id":2602979,"date":"2026-05-15T07:16:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T11:16:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/what-trump-is-doing-to-cut-costs-amid-the-iran-war\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T07:19:40","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T11:19:40","slug":"what-trump-is-doing-to-cut-costs-amid-the-iran-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/what-trump-is-doing-to-cut-costs-amid-the-iran-war\/","title":{"rendered":"What Trump is doing to cut costs amid the Iran war"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwhat-trump-is-doing-to-cut-costs-amid-the-iran-war%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2602979&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>President Donald Trump is facing growing public pressure to reduce household costs as he works toward a longer-term peace approach with Iran. Polls show widespread dissatisfaction with his handling of the economy, with oil disruptions tied to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz contributing to higher gasoline prices.<\/p>\n<p>While Trump and the White House argue their Iran policy decisions are driven by preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons rather than domestic financial concerns,the management is taking steps aimed at lowering everyday expenses. These include endorsing a temporary suspension of the federal gas tax (intended to cut fuel prices by set amounts), supporting a Senate-backed housing affordability plan that woudl expand home construction and incentivize redevelopment while barring large institutional investors from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidenomics-average-american-cant-afford-homes-in-99-of-country\/\" title=\"Bidenomics: Most Americans Can&#039;t Buy ... in 99% of the Country.\">buying single-family homes<\/a>, and considering temporary reductions in beef tariffs alongside efforts to boost domestic cattle supply.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/record-number-of-americans-died-from-drug-overdoses-in-2021-cdc-data-show\/\" title=\"Record Number Of Americans Died From Drug Overdoses in 2021, CDC Data Show\">policy experts cited<\/a> in the article suggest that relief could be limited without addressing underlying drivers like Middle East oil supply risks, and they recommend actions such as reopening the Strait of Hormuz to reduce oil and related downstream costs. the White House also points to longer-term fiscal efforts, claiming record deficit trends are improving and that government streamlining and spending cuts are ongoing even as defense costs rise due to the Iran situation.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p>President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"4\">Donald Trump<\/a> is coming under increasing pressure to cut household costs as he seeks to broker a more permanent peace deal with <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/iran\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"100\">Iran<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Six months before November\u2019s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2026-election\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"11675\">midterm elections<\/a>, nearly <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolling.com\/polls\/approval\/donald-trump\/issues\/inflation\">two-thirds<\/a> of polling respondents disapprove of the job Trump is doing regarding the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/economy\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"8768\">economy<\/a>, as the continued closure of the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/strait-of-hormuz\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"21488\">Strait of Hormuz<\/a> has choked off one-fifth of the world\u2019s oil supply and raised gasoline prices.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4569029\/jd-vance-guantanamo-bay-medicaid-fraud-maine\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>JD Vance says he likes the idea of sending Medicaid \u2018fraudsters to Gitmo\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4569037\/jd-vance-maine-bronze-medalist-of-fraud\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Vance: Maine the \u2018bronze medalist\u2019 of fraud, behind California and Minnesota<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4568810\/doug-burgum-east-potomac-golf-links-layout\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Doug Burgum releases new East Potomac Golf Links layout<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>But Trump and the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/white-house\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"8767\">White House <\/a>remain adamant they are steering the country in the right direction, with the president this week dismissing the idea his decisions concerning Iran are influenced by \u201cAmericans\u2019 financial situation.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>\u201cThe most important thing by far is Iran cannot have a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/nuclear-weapons\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"542\">nuclear weapon<\/a>,\u201d Trump told reporters on the South Lawn before departing for <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/china\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"232\">China<\/a>. \u201cEvery American understands.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yet, the White House is also taking several steps to lower the cost of living. Here\u2019s what they\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-suspending-the-federal-gas-tax\">Suspending the federal gas tax<\/h2>\n<p>Trump this week endorsed <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/congress\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"31\">Congress<\/a> temporarily suspending the federal <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/gas-tax\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"644\">gas tax<\/a>, which would lower the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/gas-prices\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"940\">price<\/a> of a gallon of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/gas\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1487\">gas<\/a> by 18 cents and its diesel counterpart by 24 cents.<\/p>\n<p>There is bipartisan support for a gas tax \u201choliday\u201d and even calls for one to become permanent, despite concerns related to its long-term consequences on the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/deficit\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"2167\">federal deficit<\/a> and the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/highway-trust-fund\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"645\">Highway Trust Fund<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>For example, economists estimate that any Highway Trust Fund shortfall from a gas tax suspension would likely be covered by general government revenue, which would add about $12 billion to the deficit.<\/p>\n<p>But White House economic spokesman Kush Desai defended the policy, contending that any Highway Trust Fund shortfall would be insignificant because the suspension would be for a short period of time and that 18 cents per gallon \u201cobviously adds up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor a lot of Americans who live in rural, and exurban, and suburban areas who are filling up their car once or twice a week, if not more, those 18 cents adds up,\u201d Desai told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cThe other point I want to reiterate is that, like the president said, this is not a long-term reality. It\u2019s a short-term disruption. And so this is a short-term mitigation strategy to give some breathing room in the short-term until the Iran situation as a whole gets more worked out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bipartisan Policy Center economic policy vice president Shai Akabas told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> that gas prices could still increase even with the holiday in place because of the situation in the Middle East. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWithout addressing underlying causes, it will be challenging to deliver relief that households will feel in their everyday cost of living,\u201d said Akabas. <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-supporting-the-housing-bill\">Supporting the housing bill<\/h2>\n<p>Trump this week also repeated his endorsement of the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/senate\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"8765\">Senate<\/a>\u2018s housing affordability proposal that has faced steep opposition in the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/house\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"11272\">House<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSenators <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/bernie-moreno\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"11273\">Bernie Moreno<\/a> and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/tim-scott\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"521\">Tim Scott<\/a> have worked to ensure my call becomes a reality, and have a Bill which has passed the Senate with nearly 90 votes,\u201d Trump <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/posts\/116558534552033932\">posted<\/a> on Truth Social. \u201cI am asking Congress to pass that Bill, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which would ensure that homes are for people, not Corporations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The legislation would similarly introduce more incentives to construct new homes, create a program to convert abandoned buildings into housing developments, and offer funding to renovate existing structures.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA month or so ago he signed a couple of executive orders on housing and, basically, one of the main things was to get new home construction up,\u201d Desai, the White House spokesman, said. \u201cIt basically tasked the White House to formulate within 90 days a best practices guide of, \u2018here are the regulations you should embrace to maintain safety and all of that, but without [getting] in the way of new home construction.\u2019 And so once you [have] that, then we\u2019ll work with the states and local governments that adopt those.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>House Republicans have expressed reservations, however, about the measure\u2019s provision that prohibits large institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes. To secure passage, Trump will likely need to get involved as the House and Senate plot a path forward. <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-lowering-beef-tariffs\">Lowering beef tariffs<\/h2>\n<p>Trump is reportedly planning to also temporarily lower <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/tariffs\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"584\">tariffs<\/a> on beef  through executive action as he did for\u00a0coffee, beef, and bananas last November. The <em>Wall Street Journal<\/em> reported this week that the administration would <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >additionally provide beef farmers<\/a> with more federal funds and help through deregulation.<\/p>\n<p>Desai told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> the executive action will go \u201chand in hand with addressing the root of the issue, which is that the domestic cattle herd size is at a multidecade low.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe tariff stuff would be a temporary reprieve, and then there\u2019d be more longer-term action to get the domestic beef production up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>But American Enterprise Institute senior fellow\u00a0Desmond Lachman\u00a0is skeptical that decreasing beef tariffs would put downward pressure on prices.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDespite the easing of tariffs on Argentine and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/brazil\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1224\">Brazilian<\/a> beef imports, beef prices still went up by 12% over the past year,\u201d Lachman told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-else-can-trump-do\">What else can Trump do?<\/h2>\n<p>As a more permanent peace deal with Iran eludes Trump, there are other options the president could consider to reduce household costs, according to AEI\u2019s Lachman.<\/p>\n<p>Lachman encouraged Trump to keep prioritizing the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to decrease the price of oil and fertilizer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat would get lower gas and diesel prices as well as prevent a spike in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/food\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"595\">food<\/a> prices later in the year due to higher fertilizer prices,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/4562933\/trump-unveils-ivf-insurance-coverage-plan-for-2027\/\"><strong>TRUMP UNVEILS IVF INSURANCE COVERAGE PLAN FOR 2027<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Desai said despite the current issues, the country\u2019s long-term trajectory was still stronger under the Trump administration. He cited Treasury Department data that indicate the budget deficit after the first year of Trump\u2019s second term has declined by more than 20% in comparison to the previous year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s been this big long-term focus on streamlining the government and cutting out bloat,\u201d the spokesman said. \u201cIn the short term, obviously the Iran war is costing defense expenditures. But the long term here is that we\u2019ve objectively gotten into [and] continue to go into every single agency and look for cuts that can be made where we\u2019re not compromising core services or anything like that, but being better stewards of taxpayer dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump faces growing pressure to cut household costs amid Iran peace talks<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2652,"featured_media":2602981,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP26132678399321_7c73cd.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[37745,75205,3634,79708],"class_list":["post-2602979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-cost-cutting","tag-iran-war-2","tag-trump","tag-u-s-government-spending"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP26132678399321_7c73cd.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2652"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2602979"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602979\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2602987,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602979\/revisions\/2602987"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2602981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2602979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2602979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2602979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}