Free Republic

The 2026 midterm elections are 100 days away as Republicans and Democrats will battle in Congress and statehouses across the country for control over the future of the country in what is expected to be a contentious and expensive campaign season. Republicans currently hold narrow majorities in both chambers of Congress, controlling the House with a razor-thin 218-212 edge, with one independent and four vacancies, and the Senate with a 53-47 advantage, including two independents who caucus with Democrats. With every House seat and 35 Senate seats on the ballot, Democrats need a net gain of just six House seats...

The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen targeted Saudi Arabia’s Aramco oil company on Saturday with missiles and drones, marking a significant escalation in the second front of the ongoing Iran conflict. President Trump issued new warnings against Iran this week, threatening to hit one power plant or bridge for every ship they hit in the Strait of Hormuz after Iran attacked another tanker near the coast of Oman on Tuesday. The President has further said that he is weighing a “massive” attack on Iran, which would be “bigger than ever before,” he said. “They haven’t received enough pain yet,” Trump said...

Disapproval of President Donald Trump’s handling of Iran hit a record high in July. A majority of voters oppose U.S. military action, and nearly two thirds think the conflict will last at least a year. The latest Fox News survey finds 56% oppose U.S. military action against Iran, including 40% who "strongly" oppose. More Democrats oppose the war (84%) than Republicans support it (76%). Voters increasingly expect a long-term commitment. Today, 64% think the war will last a year or more, up 13 percentage points since May. *** There is also doubt the conflict will produce an agreement. About half...

NEW YORK, July 10 (Reuters) - U.S. drivers have seen gasoline prices climb again after weeks ​of steady declines, as renewed fighting between the U.S. and Iran lifted crudeoilprices to their biggest weekly rise in eight weeks. Disruptions in the global refining ‌system and robust U.S. fuel exports further tightened supplies, and average pump prices rose 6 cents this week to $3.88 a gallon on Friday, AAA data showed. It was the biggest weekly increase since mid-May.

Ooops! What we predicted about higher gas prices a couple of months ago... Never mind! On April 28, Politico White House reporter Scott Waldman along with his sidekick, Eli Stokols, were confidently citing experts who predicted a big surge in gasoline prices due to the Iran war as you can see in "‘There’s a day of reckoning coming’: Energy experts expect another spike at the pump."

The gasoline prices in the wake of the Iran War agreement are PLUNGING even faster than I expected. Sorry naysayers. According to Gas Buddy, the gasoline price for Regular has fallen to $2.89 per gallon at a RaceTrac gas station in the Lauderdale Lakes section of Broward County. Other gas stations will have to follow suit soon.

The amount of oil in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve plunged last week to the lowest level since 1983 as the Trump administration continues to deploy emergency oil to minimize the damage from the war with Iran. According to federal data released Monday, US officials released another 8.9 million barrels from the SPR last week alone. “The Strategic Petroleum Reserve releases, combined with releases by other governments and China reducing its exports, have prevented the Armageddon scenario of $150 oil from happening to date.” The emergency oil released since the war with Iran start will have to get replaced over...

If wasn't clear before it should be now: the Bush administration can't afford to attack Iran. With gas already at $4 a gallon and rising almost every day, Iran figuratively and literally has the United States over a barrel. As much as the administration is tempted, it is not about to test Iran's promise to "explode" the Middle East if it is attacked.

Prices at gas pumps are starting to sink and oil is on track to drop 20% in May — its largest one-month decline since 2020 — as investors remain optimistic that a deal to end the Iran war is near. As of Friday, national average gasoline prices had eased to $4.39 a gallon, according to AAA. That’s about 17 cents lower than the 2026 peak price of $4.56 a gallon – though it’s still nearly 50% higher than pre-war prices. Brent crude oil had fallen 1.3% to $91.51 a barrel as of about 2:50 p.m. ET Friday. The global benchmark...

Surging gas prices have hit American drivers hard — but some much harder than others. For households in the bottom quarter of the income distribution — those earning roughly $40,000 a year or less — commuting fuel costs now consume an average of about 4 percent of their income, according to a Washington Post analysis. For households in the top quarter, earning $100,000 or more, the same costs amount to less than 1 percent. The gap has widened since March, as the U.S. war on Iran escalated and oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz stalled, with implications for global...

Just finished working my local polling place in PA. Small suburban borough, fairly evenly split. I have worked this district every election for more than 10 years now. Lowest turnout of any election I have ever worked, by far. Democrats turned out at more than 3-1 for this primary in my district.. This was a primary with nothing. Really contested on either side of the aisle, with most races simply having one candidate.. so nothing structurally was driving turnout on either side, so low turnout isn’t surprising… but lowest turnout in over a decade is surprising and democrats turning out...

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced on Monday efforts to combat per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) during a roundtable.During the roundtable, the EPA proposed advancing a comprehensive, lifecycle-based strategy to address unsafe levels of PFAS, known as "forever chemicals," in drinking water. As part of the new strategy, RFK Jr. announced nearly $1 billion in new funding to states set to address PFAS in drinking water. "EPA and HHS are addressing PFAS at every stage contamination, exposure to treatment, monitoring and long-term research. Americans want honest science, accountability...

The consumer price index rose at a seasonally adjusted 0.6% for the month, putting the one-year pace at 3.8%, the highest since May 2023. Excluding food and energy, the core CPI increased 0.4% and 2.8%, respectively, keeping inflation well above the Federal Reserve's 2% goal. Though energy and in particular gasoline has been much of the headline story, inflation pressures also came from a variety of other areas. The report also contained bad news for workers, as real average hourly wages slipped 0.5% for the month and fell 0.3% annually. "Inflation is the key drag on the U.S. economy now,"...

In a report from The Bulwark on Republican sentiment on soaring gas prices… Cornyn, R-TX, said the hike in gas is a "small price to pay" to continue the war. "If the American people understood," Cornyn said, "they would certainly agree." “After 40 years in public office, John Cornyn still doesn’t understand that working Texans are drowning because DC politicians like him are driving up the cost of everything," said Talarico campaign spokesperson J.T. Ennis in a news release… Cornyn is set to face Attorney General Ken Paxton in a May 26 runoff. The winner of that contest will face...

The national retail average for a regular gallon of gas was $4.457 on Monday. That's a 1-cent increase from Sunday, according to the American Automobile Association, and 35 cents more than last Monday. At this time last year, a gallon of gas was $1.29 cheaper. The surging prices seemed to stabilize or even decrease for about two weeks, following a temporary ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran that has been indefinitely extended. However, the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route where roughly a fifth of the world's oil passes, has effectively remained closed or extremely limited to passage...

Americans are staring at $4+ gas and asking a simple question that should have a simple answer. If the United States is the largest oil producer on Earth, why does it still feel like an oil-importing country every time prices spike? That question matters far beyond the gas station. It cuts straight into inflation, consumer behavior, Fed policy, and where capital flows next. What looks like a pricing anomaly is actually a structural reality that investors ignore at their own risk.This Was Supposed to Be the Easy PartGasoline prices have climbed to an average of roughly $4.26 per gallon, the...

President Donald Trump pushed back Monday on his own energy secretary's claim that a return to $3-a-gallon gas will not come through the end of the year. "No, I think he’s wrong on that, totally wrong," Trump told The Hill on Monday, when asked about Energy Secretary's Christopher Wright's interview with CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday. Trump remains steadfast in his conviction that gas prices in America are going to drop precipitously "as soon as this ends," referring to the oil blockade in the Strait of Hormuz... "The blockade is very powerful, very strong," Trump added to The...

News of the temporary ceasefire between the United States and Iran immediately sent oil prices tumbling. Within minutes of President Donald Trump announcing an agreement had been reached, crude oil prices had fallen below the $100 mark. About an hour after the announcement, the price of oil had dipped all the way into the $91/barrel range before working its way back up. As of 9 p.m., crude oil was trading around $97/barrel, which was still a $20 drop from its intraday-high. The big question that will be on the minds of drivers will be whether this decline, if it holds...

If the United States is the world’s largest oil producer—in fact, if we are energy independent—then why are we still at the mercy of global events? And how can prices spike instantly when the gasoline in the tank was made from cheaper oil weeks ago? People like easy answers, such as “corporate greed.” That is emotionally satisfying, but it doesn’t tell the full story. What’s happening is a function of global markets, supply chain realities, and predictable patterns in consumer behavior. In fact, much of what we’re seeing is exactly how the system is designed to work. The U.S. leads...

President Donald Trump dismissed concerns about rising gas prices, insisting they’ll be dropping “very soon” once the Iran war wraps up. Trump spoke to reporters at the White House on Tuesday after signing an executive order cracking down on mail-in voting, and when confronted about the sharp rise in gas prices since the strikes against Iran were launched, the president insisted the U.S. will be leaving Iran “very soon.” According to AAA, the national average for gas is around $4. One month ago, it was below $3. The country hasn’t faced a $4 average for gas since 2022, when Russia...