Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) on Wednesday slammed the President Donald Trump administration for hailing high gas prices in the U.S. following White House Chief Economist Kevin Hassett‘s comments about surging credit card spending.
Bragging About Gas Prices
“The Trump Administration is now CELEBRATING Americans paying more for gas and putting more on their credit cards,” the California Governor’s official Press Office said in a post on X, slamming Hassett for saying that ordinary Americans were using their credit cards to spend “more on gasoline,” but also on other things.
“They’re literally bragging about people getting squeezed,” the post said, before accusing the administration of being “totally out of touch” with reality.
The national average price for a gallon of gasoline broke the $4.5 threshold as data from the American Automobile Association (AAA) showed that the national average for gasoline on Wednesday was $4.536/gallon. The average price in California was $6.160/gallon, with the gas price in Mono County at $7.044/gallon.
GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan, on the other hand, suggested that oil prices in U.S. states like Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Minnesota, as well as Wisconsin would come down once refineries scale back to normal operations following reported disruptions
Bernie Sanders Questions Hassett’s Comments
Newsom isn’t the only lawmaker criticizing the Chief Economist’s comments, as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) also slammed Hassett, saying that the only ones benefiting from an increase in credit card spending were the banks, which charged “30% interest rates,” terming the spending a “disaster” for working-class people.
Elizabeth Warren Reignites Insider Trading Claims Amid Iran War
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) reignited claims of insider trading within the Trump administration, pointing toward traders on prediction market platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket placing “perfectly-timed” bets on U.S. strikes on Iran during the month of February, which helped the traders net millions.
Notably, shorts worth over $920 million comprising 10,000 bearish crude oil futures contracts surfaced nearly 70 minutes before a report that pointed towards an agreement between the U.S. and Iran. However, the timing of the said contracts sparked claims of insider trading again.
Meanwhile, Trump has said that a deal with Iran was “very possible,” indicating optimism surrounding the easing of tensions between Washington and Tehran.
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