Montanans Deserve the Truth about Gas Prices

— May 20, 2025 —

Why do Steve Daines and the current administration keep lying about gas prices? Either Daines is slipping cognitively or he’s just lying. Maybe it’s both.

In January 2025, gas in Montana averaged $2.86 a gallon. Diesel was $3.63. As of May, gas is $3.15 and diesel is $3.52. Gas prices are high and Daines knows it.

Is Daines counting on Montanans not to notice?

Montanans are some of the smartest, most practical voters in the country. We understand that gas prices are shaped by global supply and demand, not by political slogans or photo ops with a president.

Right now, oil production in the U.S. is lagging. We’ve seen eight straight weeks of rig losses across North America, and domestic production has fallen to an 11-month low. Over 2 million Americans have good jobs in the oil and gas sector.

Right now, uncertainty and market instability are choking investment.

One big reason? OPEC is flooding the global market with cheap oil, especially from Saudi Arabia and Iran, to keep prices down. Another production increase is expected in July. That glut is undercutting American producers, making it harder for them to compete or justify new drilling.

As a result, the U.S. is importing more oil, not because we can't produce it, but because it's cheaper to buy it abroad right now.

This isn’t about Trump, Biden, or any one president. It’s about global market conditions. The truth is, Obama, Trump, and Biden all presided over historic oil production. Obama lifted the 40-year oil export ban and invested in renewables. Trump opened up public lands.

Biden approved more public-land drilling permits in his first three years than Trump did and greenlit the massive Willow Project in Alaska. U.S. oil production reached 13 million barrels per day under Biden, matching pre-pandemic highs. That doesn’t happen if you’re “anti-drilling.”

When Steve Daines parrots Trump’s tired line about gas prices and blames Biden, he’s lying. Worse, he’s doing it to score points while Montanans, especially our farmers and ranchers, pay the price at the pump.

Let’s be clear: oil companies aren’t refusing to drill in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge because of regulation. They’re staying out because it doesn’t make economic sense.

Smart businesses don’t drill in risky, unprofitable regions just to win political points. They follow the market. Daines and Trump don’t seem to understand that.

If we want true energy security, we need steady leadership, investment certainty, and honest conversations. Not finger-pointing. Not soundbites.

Daines won’t give you that. He’s too busy repeating Trump’s empty promises, including the fantasy that gas prices could be fixed “in one day.”

Montanans deserve better. We deserve truth, stability, and leadership grounded in facts, not fantasies.

This isn’t a game. It’s about jobs, family budgets, and the future of our state. We have to call out our elected officials and hold them accountable to our reality on the ground.

Contact Steve Daines: https://www.daines.senate.gov/contact/