Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who has been making the rounds reassuring the public that the economic hardships from Donald Trump's Iran war will eventually subside, received a sobering reality check from the airline industry — one of the sectors being hit hardest by skyrocketing fuel costs.
According to reporting from the Wall Street Journal, former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, now president of Airlines for America, delivered a stark warning to the Trump administration that jet-fuel costs have become unsustainable.
According to the Journal's Brian Schwartz and Alison Sider, Sununu "delivered a warning to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during a recent visit to Washington."
Sununu has spent weeks sounding the alarm to Trump administration officials about the economic fallout from elevated fuel prices, arguing that the war must end soon or conditions will deteriorate further. His message appears to be landing.
Privately, Trump's advisers are said to be growing concerned that Republicans will pay a significant political price for the rising fuel costs ahead of November's midterm elections. Many administration officials are now eager to end the conflict in hopes that prices will moderate before voters head to the polls, the Journal is reporting.
"They get it…and I think that's why they're trying to get through the war as fast as they can," Sununu told the Journal.
Since Trump's initial U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran in late February, Sununu has met in Washington with National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, representatives from the Transportation Department, and senior White House officials. A White House official confirmed that Hassett and Sununu have discussed the impact of increased fuel prices on the airline industry and how the sector can blunt the cost for consumers.
However, Sununu cautioned that recovery will be slow. Even after the Strait of Hormuz is fully reopened, ticket prices won't drop immediately. "You're looking at elevated ticket prices through the summer and fall because it takes a while for the prices to go down," Sununu warned.