Cantwell among senators urging President Trump to fight rising gasoline prices; Washington third highest in U.S.

With gas prices on the rise in the U.S., Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell is urging President Trump to use all of his authority to stem the trend.

Sen. Cantwell and three other Democratic senators penned a letter to Trump on Wednesday citing their concerns and recommending ways to stop gas prices from rising, saying that “the run-up in oil prices will roughly cancel out the effects from tax reductions this year,” and citing a study from Goldman Sachs.

Washington state is ranked third highest in the nation for its gas prices, according to a AAA study. This weekend, its motorists will be stuck with the highest gas prices on a Memorial Day weekend since 2014. The report stated that Washington’s average price sits at $3.41.

“That’s sticker shock to the average American family,” Cantwell said during a press conference in Washington, D.C.

In the letter – also signed by Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass; Bob Menendez, D-N.J.; and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. – one of the seven recommended actions for Trump to take include leveraging his personal relationship with the Saudi crown prince and urge Saudi Arabia to increase world oil supplies.

Another action called on Trump to “abandon your Administration’s stated plan to roll back fuel economy standards that otherwise will save the average car owner more than $6,000 over the life of the car, and cut the nation’s oil consumption by over two million barrels per day by 2025.”

“This weekend is the start of the summer driving season, and the average American household will pay $167 more in fuel costs this summer as compared to 2017,” Cantwell said in a written statement. “In Spokane, prices have risen 25 cents per gallon in just the last month, and drivers filling up their tanks today are paying $5 to $10 more at the pump than they did a year ago.”