Dear Friends, 

Whether it’s high grocery bills, skyrocketing gas prices, or exorbitant health insurance premiums, families continue to feel the pain of President Trump’s cost-of-living crisis. This week, the average cost to fill up your tank hit $4.37/gallon in the State of Connecticut. While average Americans struggle to make ends meet, the President continues to call affordability a ‘hoax,’ instead focusing on his ballroom and building a so-called “Triumphal Arch” in honor of himself. In Congress, I’m fighting to protect your taxpayer dollars from these vanity projects, and advance real solutions to bring down prices.  

• Last week, we rejected his $1 billion request for “ballroom security” on a bipartisan basis, and my Democratic colleagues and I filed a court brief to halt ballroom construction immediately.
• I also introduced legislation with Rep. Don Beyer to block the construction of Trump’s proposed 250-foot “Triumphal Arch” planned for Memorial Circle, between Washington, D.C., and Arlington National Cemetery. 

Watch my video challenging Trump’s “Triumphal Arch”

When Trump’s Treasury Secretary came before the Ways and Means Committee, he claimed that the President created a “golden age economy.” No one I know is doing cartwheels to thank Donald Trump when they fill up their gas tank. I asked Secretary Bessent if the administration had any plan to lower gas prices. While he would not answer our questions—he did commit to work with Congress to suspend the federal gas tax. I’m a proud cosponsor of Rep. Brendan Boyle’s Gas Price Relief Act, a commonsense plan to put money back in your pocket at the pump. Our bill would suspend the gas tax when the national average is more than $3.99/gallon and pay for it by ending tax breaks for Big Oil. Democrats support it. The White House says they’d support a gas tax holiday too. Republican leadership needs to call a vote! Watch me question Secretary Bessent below. 

Last week, I was also pleased to see four Republicans finally join Democrats to pass a bill in the House to end Trump’s illegal war in Iran. President Trump may view the Constitution as a suggestion, but that does not change the facts, nor does it change the responsibility of the Congress to keep him in check. Ending this costly conflict squeezing Americans’ wallets and putting servicemembers’ lives at risk is critical. The Senate must follow our lead and act. I will continue to press the Trump Administration for answers, and work with my colleagues to bring down costs.   

To follow what I’m working on both in Washington and in Connecticut, visit my Facebook page, follow me on Twitter, or follow me on Instagram.     

Regards,

John B. Larson
Member of Congress