The US Oil & Gas Association unloaded on California Gov. Gavin Newsom after his press office tried to pin the state's soaring fuel costs on the Trump administration, posting figures that suggest the Golden State's own policies have cost drivers far more than any federal action, the New York Post reported.
Newsom's official press account on X blamed the president for what it called a "$10 BILLION higher gas bill for Americans." The oil industry group's response was swift and loaded with numbers that made the governor's complaint look modest by comparison, at least for Californians.
The association posted its own breakdown: since January 2025, California drivers have paid an estimated $24 to $30 billion more for gasoline than the national average. That premium runs $1.30 to $2.00 per gallon, driven by taxes, regulations, and supply constraints. Per driver, the tab comes to $600 to $900 or more over just 15 months.
The numbers on the ground back up the industry group's broader point. As of Saturday, California's average gas price hit $5.91 a gallon, AAA data showed. That figure was $1.20 higher than the state average just a month earlier, and roughly $1.80 above the national average of $4.10.
At one gas station in Gorda-by-the-Sea, a tiny coastal hamlet, drivers face prices approaching $10 a gallon for regular unleaded. That is not a typo. Nearly ten dollars for a single gallon of gasoline, in the United States of America, in 2026.
Newsom's office has not been shy about using social media to shape political narratives, a habit that has drawn fire before for posts that sparked backlash rather than sympathy.
The US Oil & Gas Association opened its reply to Newsom's office with a mocking post on X:
"DollarTree PeeWee and his Playhouse friends have entered the Chat."
Then it got specific. In a follow-up post, the group laid out the $24, $30 billion figure and the per-driver cost estimate, framing California's gas-price crisis as largely homegrown. The association went further, floating what it described as outside "control of CA refineries and regulations as a viable option to fix the problem California has created for the rest of the economy."
That last line is worth reading twice. An industry trade group is now openly suggesting that California's regulatory framework has become a drag not just on its own residents but on the broader national economy, and that the state's refinery and regulatory apparatus may need outside intervention.
The association describes its mission as educating "the public, policymakers, and legislators at the federal state and local levels about the value of domestic oil and natural gas exploration and production to enhancing national security and economic vitality." It is a political advocate for the oil and gas sector, and it clearly sees Newsom's deflection as an opening.
The broader causes of rising gas costs are not a single-party story. The AP has attributed increased gas costs in part to the Iran conflict's effect on global oil prices. But the gap between California and the rest of the country is not explained by geopolitics alone.
California's climate policies and its above-average fuel taxes are cited as major contributors to the state's premium. When your state stacks regulations, cap-and-trade costs, and boutique fuel-blend mandates on top of already-volatile crude prices, you get $5.91 a gallon, or $10 in Gorda-by-the-Sea.
Newsom, who has faced growing scrutiny over his national political ambitions, has made a habit of pointing fingers outward. Critics from across the political spectrum have questioned whether his public positioning matches his record. Even cultural figures outside the Republican Party have dismissed his presidential prospects, raising doubts about his credibility on bread-and-butter issues like energy costs.
The California Post reached out to Newsom's office for comment on the oil group's response. No reply was noted.
The governor's strategy, blame Washington for a problem that worsens every time Sacramento adds another layer of green regulation, is familiar to anyone who has watched California politics over the past decade. The state has the highest gas prices in the nation. It also has the most aggressive climate mandates, the most restrictive refinery rules, and some of the steepest fuel taxes.
Those are not coincidences. They are policy choices, made in Sacramento, by leaders Californians elected.
Newsom's public statements have repeatedly come under scrutiny for gaps between rhetoric and reality. His dismissals of inconvenient narratives have a way of colliding with documented evidence, a pattern that erodes trust among voters already squeezed at the pump.
The oil group's figures, $24 to $30 billion in excess costs since January 2025, $600 to $900 per driver, are industry estimates, not government audits. The underlying data and methodology have not been independently verified. But even if the real number is half that, California's self-inflicted premium dwarfs the $10 billion Newsom's office tried to hang on the president.
And that is the core of the industry group's argument: Newsom is complaining about a $10 billion national gas bill while his own state has generated two to three times that amount in extra costs for its own residents through policies he championed.
The governor has faced criticism from members of his own party as well as from Republicans. The gas-price issue, more than most, cuts across ideological lines. Working families filling up a minivan do not care whether the extra dollar per gallon comes from a carbon credit or a crude-oil spike. They care that it costs $90 to fill the tank.
When a governor whose state charges the highest gas prices in the nation goes on social media to blame someone else for high gas prices, the response from the oil industry is predictable. But the numbers the US Oil & Gas Association cited are not easily waved away.
A $1.80-per-gallon spread between California and the national average is not an accident of geography. It is the cost of doing business in a state that has decided, as a matter of policy, that gasoline should be expensive. Newsom has faced fallout before when the gap between his public image and on-the-ground reality became too wide to ignore.
California drivers deserve honesty about why they pay more. Blaming the White House while your own state adds a $1.30 to $2.00 surcharge per gallon is not leadership. It is misdirection, and at $5.91 a gallon, people notice.
