Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg seemed to relish the slight drop in gas prices Thursday but left out the fact that, while prices may slowly be dropping, they’re still incredibly high year-over-year.
“Good morning!” Buttigieg tweeted, likely directed at those who can afford an electric vehicle and aren’t struggling to fill up their gas tanks. “Gas prices are going down.”
Good morning! Gas prices are going down.
— Secretary Pete Buttigieg (@SecretaryPete) July 21, 2022
The current national average price of gas as of Thursday is $4.44 per gallon, a slight decrease from last month when the average price was $4.96 per gallon, according to AAA.
Despite the pennies Americans are saving on gas, they’re technically not saving at all because gas prices are currently 40% higher than they were one year ago. While the current average is $4.44, the average on July 19, 2021 was $3.16, according to AAA. (RELATED: Biden Blames Republicans For Soaring Gas Prices)
The administration has been quick to take a victory lap about the slight decrease in prices, with White House economic adviser Jared Bernstein recently crediting President Joe Biden for the approximate $0.50 savings.
Buttigieg defended Bernstein’s victory lap while on CNBC Wednesday, noting while the challenge isn’t over, the administration is working daily to lower prices.
“There have been White House representatives out this week kind of taking a victory lap saying prices are down at the pump, that is surely the case but I just wonder how concerned you should be about taking a victory lap yet,” host Becky Quick asked. “Most Wall Street analysts are anticipating that we will see higher energy prices, in fact, oil prices, above $100 a barrel at this point … if prices go back up, do you then have to take blame for the higher prices if you take a victory lap now?”
“Look, no one’s out here saying ‘mission accomplished,’ we just want to make sure it’s understood that the measures the president and the administration have taken to help to reduce the price of oil seem to be having an effect,” Buttigieg said. “We all know that no administration, no policy maker, no president directly controls the price of gas or the price of oil but there have been a number of measures we think are helping.”
Despite the Biden administration’s insistence they are directly contributing to the decrease in prices, there is speculation that the drop in prices could have to do with fears of a global recession.