U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

05/04/2026 | Press release | Archived content

Heinrich, Warren Press White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles on Trump Administration’s Plans to Lower Energy Prices

Letter follows President Trump's claims of "fake inflation," as Americans struggle to pay more than $4 a gallon for gasoline
Read the letter here

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, sent a letter to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, pressing for details on the Trump administration's plan to address soaring energy prices caused by President Trump's war with Iran.

Gas prices have now reached their highest level in four years. The national average is now $4.39 per gallon - more than $1.25 higher per gallon than when President Trump took office - a direct result of Trump's war with Iran, which has disrupted roughly one-fifth of the global oil supply by effectively halting traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Monthly energy inflation in March was the highest in more than 20 years. Despite this, on April 16, President Trump dismissed skyrocketing costs as "fake inflation."

"Economists are warning that the surge in energy prices will reverberate throughout the global economy, and the United States is not immune to the resulting inflationary effects. Already Americans are seeing the cost of consumer goods increase for everything from airline tickets to clothing and groceries," wrote the senators. "In light of this, we write to seek clarification on whether you and other Administration officials agree that rising energy prices are 'fake' and to request additional information on the steps you and the President will take to lower prices for Americans."

The senators concluded: "More than a week has passed since Trump made these comments, and there is no evidence that prices are stabilizing and nothing to impress American families… Dismissing the economic pain of millions of Americans as 'fake' while offering nothing but vague reassurances is not a policy - it is an abdication of responsibility. To understand what, if anything, this Administration is doing to address the surging energy prices its reckless and illegal war with Iran has helped create, we request answers to the following questions no later than May 14, 2026."

As Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Heinrich has consistently shed light on how President Trump's actions are significantly raising energy prices on everyday Americans:

  • In January, Heinrich led his colleagues in sending a bicameral letter to the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary Doug Burgum and U.S. Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, demanding a classified briefing on the Trump administration's sudden halt of all large-scale offshore wind projects in the United States that generate clean, affordable power, including projects already under construction.

  • In January, Heinrich led his colleagues in sending a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, pressing him to rescind a July 15th, 2025, directive that requires solar and wind projects to have his personal approval.

  • In January, Heinrich hosted a roundtable with his Senate colleagues, union representatives, a small business owner, an elected official, and energy advocates, during which they discussed how the Trump administration's policies - from stalling permits of more than 500 clean energy projects to sunsetting critical investments that make energy cheaper for consumers - have raised utility costs on working families.

  • In February, Heinrich sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), blasting the Trump administration for redirecting congressionally-appropriated funds set aside for carbon capture programs from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to prop up expensive, old coal power plants.

  • In March, Heinrich hosted a roundtable with his Senate colleagues, Robert Reich, former U.S. Secretary of Labor under the Clinton administration, and experts on clean energy and utility services, during which they discussed how the Trump administration's policies have driven up energy prices for working families.

  • In March, during a Committee hearing to examine the state of the power grid, Heinrich outlined the steps that the Trump administration can take to lower energy costs for consumers and strengthen our strained energy grid.

  • In April, Heinrich sent a letter to Energy Secretary Chris Wright demanding answers on whether the Department sufficiently prepared for the closure of the Strait of Hormuz prior to President Trump choosing to enter into a war against Iran with no clear strategy or congressional approval.

  • In April, during a Committee hearing to examine the Trump administration's budget request for the DOE Fiscal Year 2027 (FY 27), Heinrich questioned DOE Secretary Chris Wright on skyrocketing gas prices consumers are facing at the pump as a direct consequence of the administration's war in Iran, using emergency authority to prop up coal plants, and repurposing congressionally allocated funds meant to fund carbon capture projects to subsidize coal plants.

  • In April, during a U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing to examine the Trump administration's Budget Request for the DOI Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27), Heinrich questioned Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on the administration's actions that slow-walk clean energy project approvals.

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