Gas jumped a dollar a gallon in three weeks because Iran is firing missiles at oil tankers.
Florida Democrats saw that and thought: perfect time to score cheap political points.
DeSantis just told them exactly what that 23-cent gas tax cut would actually do to your wallet – and the answer isn't pretty.
Why Florida Gas Prices Keep Rising Even When States Cut the Gas Tax
Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz – the chokepoint for roughly 20% of the world's oil supply – sent Brent crude surging from $67 to over $100 a barrel in under three weeks.
Democrats in the Florida Legislature responded by calling for a temporary suspension of the state's 23.5-cent gas tax.
DeSantis, who pushed through a one-month gas tax pause back in October 2022, wasn't interested in a repeat.
"Sometimes the price just gets raised so that the consumer doesn't see any difference," DeSantis said Thursday. "I mean, if the gas is $4.00 a gallon, whether you're paying tax or not, if you're paying $4.00, that's what people notice, right?"
He's been through this before – and the data backs him up.
When four states ran gas tax holidays during the 2022 price spike, researchers found a consistent pattern: initial savings eroded quickly as station owners quietly rebuilt their margins.
Connecticut's 25-cent suspension produced roughly 23 cents of relief in the first two weeks – but within six weeks that had shrunk to about 11 cents as wholesale prices adjusted.
Georgia's results were delayed and Maryland's prices actually finished higher after the holiday ended than before it began.
This time around, Penn Wharton Budget Model's Alex Arnon warned the problem would be worse than 2022.
With 500-plus vessels – tankers, container ships, and bulk carriers – trapped outside the Strait and no clear reopening timeline, station owners are building a margin buffer against the supply crunch they know is coming.
They're not passing savings to drivers when they expect their next fuel delivery to cost more than the last.
https://twitter.com/JaxBizJournal/status/2034869687381545150?s=20
Gas tax cuts are popular with voters precisely because voters can't track where the money went.
Trump Jones Act Waiver and the Strait of Hormuz Plan Already Cutting Gas Prices
While Florida Democrats propose a quarter-a-gallon bandage on a dollar-a-gallon wound, the Trump administration is working the actual problem.
On March 18, Trump issued a 60-day Jones Act waiver, allowing foreign-flagged ships to move oil, natural gas, and other resources between American ports.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the action was designed specifically to ease supply disruptions from the Hormuz blockade, letting vital resources flow freely to U.S. ports while military operations continue.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said last weekend there's "a very good chance" gas prices drop below $3 per gallon by summer – once Operation Epic Fury finishes degrading Iran's ability to threaten the strait and tanker traffic resumes.
DeSantis pointed to the same solution.
"The ultimate solution is to make sure that you have good markets and energy internationally," he said. "It's going to be more in the bucket of the federal government than us."
That's not a dodge. That's the correct answer.
The Gas Tax Holiday Has Never Worked and Gas Station Owners Know It
The gas tax holiday has been a political prop since 2008, when both John McCain and Hillary Clinton ran it as a campaign promise during a summer price spike.
Barack Obama called it out at the time as a gimmick – and the economics haven't changed in 18 years.
Cutting the posted price at the pump increases demand.
When supply is already constrained – and right now global supply is constrained by the worst disruption to oil markets since the 1970s – retailers have no incentive to absorb the lost margin.
They just raise the pre-tax price to compensate.
Florida House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell said residents "could really use some relief right now."
She's right that they could. She's wrong about where it comes from.
Iran picked the wrong fight.
Trump is dismantling their military – and when the Strait reopens and the tankers start moving again, that's when Florida families actually feel it.
Not from a coupon Democrats cooked up in Tallahassee. From a president who finished the job.
Sources:
- Staff, "Ron DeSantis skeptical of state gas tax pause: 'The consumer doesn't see any difference,'" Washington Examiner, March 20, 2026.
- Staff, "DeSantis rejects gas tax pause, warns of Cuba 'exodus' amid global turmoil," E&E News, March 20, 2026.
- Staff, "Energy secretary says Americans could feel relief on gas prices 'in a few more weeks,'" NBC News, March 15, 2026.
- Staff, "Trump Waives US Shipping Law As Gas Prices Rise Amid Iran War," Daily Caller, March 18, 2026.
- Staff, "A state-by-state guide to gas tax holidays," Avalara, 2022.
- Staff, "Don't expect your state to give you a gas tax holiday anytime soon," CNN, March 17, 2026.
- Staff, "Iran Conflict and the Strait of Hormuz: Impacts on Oil, Gas, and Other Commodities," Congressional Research Service, March 2026.
