Republicans Resist $1 Billion Secret Service Request as 18.4-Cent Gas Tax Holiday Splits GOP
Updated
Updated · POLITICO · May 13
Republicans Resist $1 Billion Secret Service Request as 18.4-Cent Gas Tax Holiday Splits GOP
5 articles · Updated · POLITICO · May 13
$1 billion in requested Secret Service funding, including about $220 million tied to Trump’s ballroom project, ran into sharp GOP resistance as Republicans grappled with inflation backlash and Iran war costs topping $29 billion.
Tuesday’s pressure point was a brutal inflation report showing gas, grocery and housing prices rising, leaving Republicans scrambling for affordability answers while warning the ballroom fight hands Democrats a potent election-year attack.
An 18.4-cent-per-gallon federal gas tax holiday that Trump endorsed has also divided the party, with House leaders wary of reviving a proposal many Republicans mocked in 2022 and senators questioning whether consumers would see real savings.
An 89-10 Senate housing bill has emerged as the clearest affordability response, and GOP senators urged Speaker Mike Johnson to pass it unchanged, but House leaders still want revisions that would force another Senate vote.
Trump further complicated the politics by saying, "I don’t think about America’s financial situation" when asked about the Iran conflict, reinforcing Democratic claims that Republicans are not focused enough on household costs.
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