State attorneys general blame feds for rising gas prices, Trump admin pushes back

By Dave Mason | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – It’s up to the federal government to stop hikes in gas prices, according to Democratic attorneys general who blame the Trump administration and the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran.

Attorneys General Rob Bonta of California and Kwame Raoul of Illinois made the comments late Monday morning when The Center Square asked them what their states could do to limit the jump in prices.

“The rise of gas prices lies at the feet of Donald Trump, who initiated the conflict with Iran,” Bonta said, answering The Center Square’s questions during a virtual news conference.

Raoul called the conflict, which he noted was started without congressional approval, another federal action that makes life less affordable.

Californians, who consistently have experienced the nation’s highest gas prices for several years, saw an average of $5.79 at the pump on Monday, according to AAA. Illinois’ average price was $4.17 a gallon.

For both states, that’s an increase of over $1 a gallon since one month ago. And both prices are above the national average of $3.96 a gallon, which is an increase of slightly less than $1 in a month.

Prices have risen steadily since the conflict with Iran started Feb. 28.

The Center Square’s questions during Monday’s press conference included why California hadn’t made use of a 2023 law designed to limit gas hikes, but Bonta said that was a question for the California Energy Commission. The panel last year voted to delay implementation of rules needed to carry out the law.

After Bonta’s comments, The Center Square contacted the commission, which explained Monday afternoon about the delay in implementing Senate Bill X1-2. Answering questions by email, the panel staff said the commissioners voted in August 2025 to de-prioritize the implementation of SB X1-2’s maximum gross gasoline refining margin and focus on other petroleum supply stabilization tools that were granted by special legislative sessions. Those tools included requiring refineries to maintain minimum inventories of refined gasoline and to resupply lost fuel production for planned maintenance, the CEC staff said.

“The price spike we’re experiencing now is due to the rapid escalation of crude oil prices because of the Iran war,” the staff told The Center Square. “These elevated prices are not unique to California, and prices are continuing to rise globally.”

White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers on Monday afternoon stressed the gas hikes are temporary.

“President Trump has been clear that these are short-term disruptions,” Rogers said, answering The Center Square’s questions by email. “Ultimately, once the military objectives are completed and the Iranian terrorist regime is neutralized, oil and gas prices will drop rapidly again, potentially even lower than before the strikes begin.

“As a result, American families will benefit greatly in the long-term,” Rogers said.

She also told The Center Square that California Democrats shouldn’t be criticizing the Trump administration’s energy policy.

“If they really cared about crude oil production and prices, they would stop trying to block Sable Offshore from producing reliable, affordable energy in California,” Rogers said.

She was referring to Sable Offshore’s restarting of two Las Flores pipelines, which carry oil through Santa Barbara County and to the Kern County oil production city of Bakersfield. Thousands of barrels of oil a day started flowing recently through the pipelines for the first time since the 2015 oil spill at Refugio State Beach in Santa Barbara County. The resumption of operations followed an order by U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright.

Bonta announced Monday afternoon California filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for Northern California to stop Sable from being excused from state and federal laws and court orders.

The Center Square previously reported on Sable and its efforts to restart offshore oil drilling at platforms off the coast of Santa Barbara and its northern suburb, Goleta. Opponents have warned against the environmental risks, but supporters said technology has made drilling safer and noted offshore drilling could lower the state’s gas prices.

“Sable’s production will increase California’s crude oil output by 15 percent, which was only made possible by President Trump invoking the Defense Production Act,” Rogers said.

Regarding the hike in gas prices, Bonta earlier on Monday told The Center Square, “What Californians should be doing is speaking up and speaking against the Trump administration.”

The Center Square also asked the California attorney general Monday about the lawsuit by the nation’s Democratic attorneys general to stop the Trump administration from implementing a new round of tariffs.

A summary judgment hearing is expected in the coming weeks in the U.S. International Court of Trade, Bonta said, noting he believes Trump is relying on an archaic law and that Congress, not the executive branch, has the power to tax.

The attorneys general of California and Illinois held Monday’s press conference to announce a lawsuit by Democratic attorney generals across the U.S. to stop the Trump administration from withholding U.S. Department of Agriculture grants to states that allow transgender athletes on girls’ and women’s school teams and that support diversity, inclusion and equity policies. The suit is also challenging federal efforts to deny U.S.D.A. benefits because of states’ immigration policies.

Bonta described the federal government’s policies as discriminatory and said they could affect Supplemental Food Assistance Program benefits and school lunch programs. The lawsuit is filed in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts.

“I don’t have the figures on how many kids, how many families” would be affected, said Raoul, the Illinois attorney general.

“Our job as attorney general is to make sure the resources are appropriated by Congress, by way of the taxes paid by residents in their respective states, come back to the states,” Raoul said, answering The Center Square’s questions.

Bonta noted that funding hasn’t been withheld yet and that the attorneys general were acting to prevent the money from being withheld.

The Center Square reached out to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees SNAP benefits, formerly known as food stamps, on Monday afternoon. A spokesperson said the department doesn’t comment on pending litigation.