House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., said American families are bearing an unjustified financial burden from the war with Iran, citing a new estimate of the conflict’s toll on consumer energy costs. Clark’s post on X linked to CNN reporting on the war’s economic impact.
Clark: “It Needs to End Now”
“$100 BILLION that families shouldn’t have to pay. 18 service members who shouldn’t have lost their lives,” Clark wrote. “No one asked for Trump’s reckless war, and it needs to end now.”
Brown University Tracker Puts Added Fuel Costs at $100.9 Billion
According to the Iran War Energy Cost Tracker, a real-time research project run by Brown University’s Watson School of International and Public Affairs, U.S. consumers have paid an extra $100.9 billion on gasoline and diesel combined since the war began Feb. 28 — an average of $770 per household. The tracker, led by political scientist Jeff Colgan, calculates the figure by comparing actual fuel prices against a projected “no-war” price trajectory and multiplying the difference by national fuel consumption; it updates continuously and researchers said the total was rising by roughly $1 million every two minutes as of early September. Colgan, director of Brown’s Climate Solutions Lab, told HuffPost the tracker was designed to show people “how much the war cost — not to the Pentagon but to everyday Americans,” saying that “once you start to add it up and see what else we could have spent that money on, it really hits a nerve for people.”
Gasoline Alone Has Cost Consumers an Extra $55 Billion
Of the total, consumers have paid $55 billion more on gasoline alone, an average of $422 per household, according to the tracker. The national average gas price climbed to $4.15 a gallon by early September, according to AAA, up from $2.98 before the war began and marking the most expensive Labor Day weekend for gas prices on record. Prices remain below the war-era peak of $4.56 in May and the all-time record of $5.02 set in 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Diesel Has Set New Records, Rising More Than 60% This Year
Diesel has been hit harder in relative terms, with consumers paying an extra $46 billion, or $348 per household, according to the tracker. The national average diesel price reached $5.90 a gallon, up from $3.76 when the war began and surpassing the prior record set in 2022; the increase of more than 60% puts diesel on pace for its largest annual percentage increase since AAA began tracking the fuel in 2000. In California, diesel hit a record $7.83 a gallon, prompting GasBuddy petroleum analyst Patrick De Haan to warn on X that prices there “could blow past” $8 a gallon, adding that “some pumps aren’t even built to display what could come next.”
Texas Has Borne the Largest State-Level Cost, Tracker Shows
Texas consumers have paid the most in added costs of any state, roughly $11 billion since the war began, followed by California at about $8 billion and Florida at about $5 billion, according to the Brown University tracker.
Energy Analyst Warns of a Historically Expensive Fall
“We’re looking at a fall that’s going to be the most expensive ever for gasoline, but really for diesel. And that’s going to fuel every aspect of inflation,” Tom Kloza, chief energy adviser at Gulf Oil, told CNN.
Analysts Cite Refining Bottlenecks, Not Just Crude Prices, as a Factor
Kloza and others have pointed to a shortage of active refining capacity, not just the price of crude itself, as a compounding problem. Three of the world’s four major refining hubs — the Middle East, Russia and China — have been sidelined by war and export restrictions, leaving U.S. Gulf Coast refineries to run at full capacity to help offset the shortfall. “This is a quiet but very, very concerning crisis right now,” Kloza said, adding that consumers nationwide are “gonna pay a fortune.”
Goldman Sachs Raised Its Price Forecasts as War Continues
Goldman Sachs increased its December forecast for Brent crude, the international benchmark, by $5 to $85 a barrel, and raised its 2027 average forecast to $80 from a prior estimate of $75. The bank said it expects Middle East oil production to recover only gradually through the second half of 2027 and warned Brent could top $120 a barrel if Gulf output remains well below pre-war levels.
Trump Has Said Higher Prices Are a Worthwhile Cost of the War
Trump has repeatedly defended the price increases as necessary. In a Truth Social post the night before the CNN report, he wrote that “oil prices will drop precipitously” once the U.S. “WIN[s] the war with Iran.” At a New York rally last month, Trump told supporters that “for you to pay a tiny little bit more for your gasoline” was worthwhile to keep what he called “a very evil country” from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Rising Prices Come as Inflation Remains Above the Fed’s Target
The Labor Department’s August Consumer Price Index report, released the same week, was projected to show inflation at 3.4% year over year, well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, with the central bank expected to weigh an interest rate increase at its upcoming policy meeting.
Polling Shows Broad Public Skepticism the War Was Worth Its Costs
A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted Aug. 28-31 found roughly a quarter of Americans said the war with Iran was worth it, consistent with similar Ipsos surveys conducted throughout the year using its probability-based KnowledgePanel; an April 10-12 Ipsos poll of 1,019 adults found 24% said the military action had been worth it considering both costs and benefits, while 51% said it had not, and a June 18-22 survey of 1,262 adults found a similar 24-52 split. A separate June CBS News poll found 69% of Americans believed the war’s costs were not worth entering the conflict. The same Reuters/Ipsos survey found 71% of adults disapproved of Trump’s handling of the cost of living, compared with 22% who approved, and 47% of registered voters identified affordability as the most important factor in their midterm voting decision.
Clark Is the Second-Ranking House Democrat and Highest-Ranking Woman in Congress
Clark, who represents Massachusetts’ 5th Congressional District and has served as House Democratic Whip since 2022, is the highest-ranking woman in congressional history. She has used her leadership position to frequently criticize the administration’s handling of both the war’s human toll and its economic consequences for American households.