At $3.85 a gallon, the price of gasoline at America's forecourts is cheaper than it was a month ago — but not cheap enough for the White House. On Tuesday morning, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent appeared on Fox News to deliver what amounted to a thinly veiled ultimatum to oil companies, large and small, domestic and foreign. "I would encourage them to be good actors," Bessent said, adding pointedly that the administration was "watching.

" The warning came one day after President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social demanding that retailers drop their prices "IMMEDIATELY," arguing that crude oil at $68 a barrel left no justification for elevated pump prices. The arithmetic behind the pressure is straightforward. Brent crude is heading for its largest quarterly loss since the first months of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, having fallen sharply after the United States and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding to end their conflict. Despite subsequent clashes that have threatened the fragile peace deal, the Brent index sits only $1 above where it traded before hostilities began.

Bessent suggested that oil companies were probably recording "record profits" on the spread between falling crude costs and sticky retail prices, and declared that it was "time to do something for the American people." The political calendar sharpens the urgency considerably. The United States is preparing to mark its 250th anniversary on the Fourth of July, and a record 72 million people are expected to travel over the holiday weekend, according to the American Automobile Association. That figure represents a remarkable expression of consumer confidence given the broader cost pressures many households are facing, yet the numbers driving or flying have remained relatively flat compared with last year.