Trump discusses extended Strait of Hormuz, Iran blockade with energy executives
President Trump on Tuesday discussed extending the blockade on Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz and how to minimize the impact to consumers during a meeting with energy executives at the White House, a White House official told The Hill.
The development comes after The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Trump told aides to brace for an extended blockade.
The group also discussed steps Trump has taken to alleviate global oil markets that have been rattled in the wake of the Iran war.
The official told The Hill that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hosted the meeting, which was also attended by Vice President Vance and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.
Rising energy prices have become a huge political problem for the Trump White House and Republican lawmakers in Congress holding on to slim majorities in a midterm election year.
The House majority has long been seen as winnable by Democrats, but in recent weeks, the GOP’s Senate majority has also seemed in jeopardy given the political winds.
A poll by Emerson College Polling released Wednesday found Democrats held a 10-point advantage over Republicans on a generic congressional ballot.
The three-day poll conducted this past weekend found that 50 percent of likely voters said they would back a generic Democratic candidate for Congress, while 40 percent said they would prefer the average Republican in November. Another 10 percent said they’re not sure.
The issue of affordability helped lift Trump to a second term in the White House when he won the 2024 campaign against former Vice President Harris. But a series of polls have seen the public sour on his economic stewardship, and gas prices above $4 per gallon have not helped matters.
The meeting between Trump and the gas executives comes as the U.S. and Israel’s war in Iran is set to pass the 60-day mark — as the conflict continues to wreak havoc on domestic and global energy markets.
Iran has won enormous leverage in the war with its ability to prevent ships from passing through the Strait of Hormuz. This has disrupted about 20 percent of the world’s oil supply. While the U.S. does not rely on this supply as much as European, African and Asian nations, it has raised global prices.
A ceasefire in the war was extended last week.
The U.S. Navy’s blockade, which began more than two weeks ago , is intended to put more pressure on Iran by stopping ships from delivering Iranian oil.
Trump has repeatedly signaled he has no intention of lifting the blockade until Iran bends to demands in the negotiations, which include opening the Strait and agreeing to significant concessions that would prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Trump posted an altered image to Truth Social of him holding a gun and bombs going off in a desert setting behind him with a message to Iran.
“Iran can’t get their act together,” the president wrote. “They don’t know how to sign a nonnuclear deal. They better get smart soon.”
Gas prices rose more than five cents from Tuesday to Wednesday, to nearly $4.23 per gallon, according to AAA. That is the highest mark since April 2022, when the national average peaked at $4.11 per gallon in the early months of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, sat at $116 per barrel on Wednesday.
The White House official also noted that the oil executives present at Tuesday’s meeting praised Trump’s actions on U.S. energy dominance, pointing to initiatives like the Jones Act and Defense Production Act .
Updated at 10:54 a.m. EDT
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