# Beshear Defends Gas Tax Cuts as GOP Lawmakers Call Them Political Pandering **Published:** 2026-06-08T20:19:38.000Z **Source:** [Office of the Governor](https://kentucky.gov/Pages/Activity-stream.aspx?n=GovernorBeshear&prId=2769) **AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) **Canonical:** https://feeds.lexingtonky.news/article/beshear-defends-gas-tax-cuts-as-gop-lawmakers-call-them-political-pandering Gov. Andy Beshear is standing firm on [his decision to temporarily lower the state's gas tax and freeze a future increase](https://kentucky.gov/Pages/Activity-stream.aspx?n=GovernorBeshear&prId=2769), even as Republican state lawmakers accuse the Democratic governor of playing politics ahead of a potential 2028 presidential run. In an op-ed and subsequent public remarks, Beshear fired back at his critics by pointing out that President Donald Trump has also proposed suspending the federal gas tax. "Are you calling Donald Trump a panderer? Because he is doing the same thing," the governor said during a Team Kentucky update. The order temporarily reduces Kentucky's motor fuels tax by 10 cents per gallon and freezes an automatic increase that otherwise would have taken effect July 1, 2026. The order became effective May 11, 2026, and remains in effect for 30 days. Republican Kentucky legislators, including state Rep. John Blanton, have been critical of the gas tax reduction, voicing concern that it prevents roughly $27 million from going to Kentucky's road fund, which is used for maintenance and improvement projects. State Rep. Ken Upchurch, R-Monticello, questioned the governor's reasoning. "If it was not an emergency in 2022, why is it now?" he said, referring to high gas prices under President Joe Biden. Beshear framed the issue as one of priorities. "This is a time when our families' budgets are suffering and we have a budget, would we rather alleviate our families suffering in their budget a little bit and absorb some of that in ours, or not?" he said. "I've said yes, we'll put our families first. Those legislators have said no." States like Indiana and Georgia, both led by Republican governors, have suspended their own gas taxes in response to the increasing cost of fuel. Data show gas is more than 30 cents cheaper in Indiana right now, where the state's Republican governor Mike Braun has suspended the Hoosier gas tax multiple times, including again this week. The fiscal impact is substantial. The 10 cents per gallon reduction will save the average Kentucky driver approximately $5 per month or $1.15 per week in gas tax, while reducing the road fund revenues by about $25 million per month. Chief executive officers or legislative bodies may request extensions of the executive order. Any gaps in the transportation budget caused by a decrease in gas tax funding can be filled by the state's Budget Reserve Trust Fund, with the governor stating he would make that request to lawmakers in January during the 2027 legislative session. ## Sources - [Office of the Governor](https://kentucky.gov/Pages/Activity-stream.aspx?n=GovernorBeshear&prId=2769) - [WHAS11: Beshear defends lowering gas tax amid Republican criticism](https://www.whas11.com/article/news/local/gov-beshear-defends-lowering-gas-tax-amid-republican-criticism/417-8a32bd38-5b11-4566-a2a5-e51def72f16a) - [News Express: Legislators blast Beshear over gas tax reduction](https://www.news-expressky.com/news/legislators-blast-beshear-over-gas-tax-reduction-actions/article_ada00aea-43a9-4c73-8c1d-3ea8050bb193.html) - [Kentucky League of Cities: Governor Beshear Issues Executive Order on Gas Prices](https://www.klc.org/News/13280/governor-beshear-issues-executive-order-on-gas-prices) --- This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Office of the Governor, enriched with 2 web searches. The original source is available at https://kentucky.gov/Pages/Activity-stream.aspx?n=GovernorBeshear&prId=2769.