Ro Khanna is a special brand of Democratic hack. He routinely seems to make bogus arguments that rely on people not knowing the precise ways in which his arguments are misleading to the point of being outright lies. Case in point, on Saturday Rep. Khanna posted a video complaining about high gas prices in California. We’ll get to that in a moment.
To be clear, gas prices are ridiculous in California with regular hovering just below $6 per gallon on average across the state. That means mid-grade and premium gas are already well above $6 and diesel fuel hit an all-time peak price of $7.74 just last week. So, granted, the prices are bad. But notice how Rep. Khanna shifts all of the blame to President Trump:
Trump’s immoral and reckless war in Iran has shot up gas prices in my district to nearly $6 a gallon.
Stop the war, stop exporting our crude oil, and pass my windfall profits tax on Big Oil to give Americans a rebate for their gas bills. pic.twitter.com/mC0YSJn2po
— Rep. Ro Khanna (@RepRoKhanna) April 11, 2026
Has gas gone up because of the war with Iran? Absolutely. But what Khanna doesn’t say is that gas prices were already the highest in the nation before the war in Iran. In fact, California has had the highest gas prices in the country for years now thanks to all of the taxes, refining costs and special blends. The only state that sometimes took the top spot was Hawaii, for obvious reasons. But currently, gas in Hawaii is about $0.35 cheaper than in California.
The average cost of gas in the country as a whole is $4.12, nearly two dollars cheaper than in California. In fact, since that figure is an average for the entire nation including California it’s a bit misleading. If you excluded CA, the price in the other 49 states probably works out very close to $2 cheaper. Current prices is Florida are $4. It’s the same in Virginia. In Wisconsin it’s $3.78 and in Pennsylvania and New York it’s $4.12. In Texas, regular gas is $3.80.
The point is that gas is a lot cheaper almost everywhere else in the country. The reason it’s so bad in California is because of taxes put in place by California Democrats. CBS News recently did a story on this.
A recent CBS study found 55% of the fuel cost in California were specific to costs originating from the policies promoted by the state.The very same policies Ro Khanna supports.
He should probably start there if he’s worried about gas prices… pic.twitter.com/6mPZL4HGEb
— AG (@AGHamilton29) April 13, 2026
Here’s a bit of that story:
Last time gas hit $6 a gallon in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom began accusing oil companies of price gouging. California’s supermajority Democratic legislature held a taxpayer-funded “price gouging” special session, culminating with legislation that was intended to cap oil company profits and force them to open their books.
More than two years later, state officials say they found no evidence of illegal price gouging. Instead, two refineries shut down, taking nearly 20% of the state’s refining capacity.
So California gas is being outsourced to Asia making it slow and unable to respond to changes in the market. On top of that, it’s also loaded down with taxes and regulatory costs.
Roughly 45% of the cost of every gallon of gas is made up of costs that are consistent across the country. That includes the global price of crude, which is higher for everyone right now, and an 18-cent federal tax that drivers pay in every state.
However, the remaining 55% of each gallon of gas includes California-specific costs.
Distribution and refining costs, which are more expensive in California, account for roughly 28% of every gallon.
California’s special gas blend tacks on roughly 10-15 cents per gallon to refining costs. Then there’s a 61-cent state excise tax and roughly 2 cents attributed to underground storage fees.
California’s cap-and-trade tacks on roughly 23 cents to every gallon, and the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) adds another 14 cents.
On top of that, there are state and local sales taxes.
So why is gas $6 a gallon in California? It’s because Democrats designed it that way. Californians could be paying something a lot closer to $4 a gallon like almost everyone else in the country but then all that money wouldn’t be filling up the state’s coffers. It adds up to about $20 billion per year. State law requires that most of that money be spent on roads and transportation projects, but you wouldn’t know if driving on some of the state’s freeways.
Anyway, let’s wrap this up with a response to Rep. Khanna from the US Oil and Gas Association, a trade group that isn’t impressed with Rep. Khanna’s video.
Good evening @RepRoKhanna. We hope you had a nice Saturday.
Several people have requested we comment on your post. We will quickly before we take Mrs. USOGA out for date night.
First – like you, we hope this war will end soon and things will return to normal. Until then… https://t.co/OPEayrzZKs
— US Oil & Gas Association (@US_OGA) April 12, 2026
Here’s a bit of what he said:
Good evening @RepRoKhanna. We hope you had a nice Saturday.
Several people have requested we comment on your post. We will quickly before we take Mrs. USOGA out for date night.
First – like you, we hope this war will end soon and things will return to normal. Until then – things will be what they will be.
But high gas prices in your district aren’t “Trump’s war”—they’re Sacramento’s doing.
California drivers pay nearly double the national average in state taxes, plus cap-and-trade, Low Carbon Fuel Standard, unique reformulated gasoline, refinery limits, and geographic isolation that blocks cheap imports.
That adds $1.00–$1.78+ over the U.S. average.
Here is our suggestion. Your proposed windfall profits tax will do nothing to bring relief to your overtaxed and underappreciated constituents.
Instead -suspend those state-level taxes first and bring California prices in line with the national average.
Put your state bureaucracy on a diet. They could stand to shed a few pounds.
Encourage California domestic oil and gas production and expand your refinery capacity instead of shutting it down.
Stand up to your Governor. You know he is wrong and you can be on the right side of things…
You have a 99% lifetime League of Conservation Voters score—near-perfect opposition to domestic energy exploration, production and leasing.
You’ve led hearings attacking us and sponsored bills to repeal industry tax provisions.
Fine—own that record.
But please stop shifting blame to “Trump’s war” or federal policy while California’s own choices keep your constituents paying the highest pump prices in America.
Real relief comes from more American supply + streamlined permitting, not recycled 1980s taxes or more restrictions.
Energy abundance, not rhetoric, lowers prices and bolsters U.S. and allied security.
Mrs. USOGA has instructed us to put the phone away so we will do that.
Have a good weekend.
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