Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) said Friday that oil prices “just hit a 5-month high because of Donald Trump’s reckless war with Iran,” accusing congressional Republicans of having “co-signed this chaos” and saying working families are struggling to afford gas and groceries because of what she called Trump’s “endless war.”
Gillibrand’s post, published at 4:16 p.m. on Oct. 23, 2026, linked an article from The Wall Street Journal reporting that December Brent crude futures settled up 3.1% at $116.72 a barrel, the highest close since April 29 and a 6.2% gain on the week. December West Texas Intermediate rose 3.8% to $103.27, a 4.3% weekly gain.
Gillibrand’s full post reads:
Oil prices just hit a 5-month high because of Donald Trump’s reckless war with Iran.
Congressional Republicans co-signed this chaos, and now working families are struggling to afford gas and groceries because of Trump’s endless war.
Trump promised a “golden age” but instead delivered a cost-of-living crisis.
What Drove the Oil Move
The article said the market remained on edge about the possibility of escalation, with renewed U.S.-Iran hostilities and further attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure in view. It reported that Iran warned renewed U.S. and Israeli strikes would trigger a wider response targeting airports, oil pipelines and other economic infrastructure across the Persian Gulf.
Washington is deploying a third aircraft carrier strike group and additional Marines toward the Middle East while moving some military personnel away from regional bases over concerns of Iranian retaliation. Analysts at MUFG said the buildup casts doubt on their earlier view that tensions would ease after the November midterms.
Regional tensions were elevated after attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia on Saudi Arabia’s Shaybah oil field and King Fahd International Airport in Dammam on Wednesday. Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry said operations at Shaybah were unaffected despite casualties from falling debris, and the Saudi-led coalition said it destroyed two Houthi drones Friday.
ING analysts said its forecast of Brent averaging $80 a barrel in the fourth quarter now appears unattainable. Kpler data showed Strait of Hormuz flows averaging 12.65 million barrels a day over seven days, about 26% below the prewar baseline of 17.15 million, even as combined Hormuz and alternative-route flows ran above prewar levels.
Gillibrand’s Record on the Iran War
Gillibrand authored a War Powers Resolution directing Trump to remove U.S. armed forces from hostilities against Iran unless Congress explicitly authorizes force. On July 30, 2026, Republicans voted to block it, and she said they had “abandoned their duties as elected officials.”
In April, Gillibrand held a news conference with Senate Democrats announcing a new wave of war powers resolutions, which are privileged and can be forced to a vote by any senator ten days after filing. Her office has said she has voted yes multiple times on war powers resolutions and will not provide a “blank check” for the war.
In a floor speech before the July vote, Gillibrand said, “Instead, he gave us war and pain.” She cited Joint Economic Committee data showing the average New York family had paid an additional $432 on gas since the war began and Americans nationwide had paid $60 billion more.
Gas, Groceries and the Cost of Living
On May 15, Gillibrand toured gas stations in Massapequa and Mattydale, where her office said the New York average was $4.60 per gallon, nearly 50 percent above a year earlier, and called for an end to the war.
On Aug. 26, Gillibrand cited a Joint Economic Committee report finding the average New York household had paid an additional $5,000-plus for goods and services as of July 2026, including $3 billion more on gas statewide since the war began, or $521 per family. She said Trump and Republicans had “promised to lower costs and end inflation.”
Gillibrand has also opposed Trump’s tariffs. On March 11, she announced legislation to exempt small businesses from the latest tariffs and refund tariff costs already paid, and on Aug. 24 she criticized new tariffs on Canada, saying they would raise costs for New York families and small businesses.
Trump said on Sept. 9 that oil prices likely would not come down until after the midterm elections. “Right after the election, oil prices are going to be tumbling downward,” he said. The midterm elections are Nov. 3.