Mike Rogers told Michigan not to worry about gas prices. Now they’re nearly $5 a gallon

Friday marks 60 days since the United States and Israel launched airstrikes against Iran on Feb. 28, a milestone that underscores a failing prediction by Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers. While Rogers recently dismissed concerns over the war’s economic fallout, Michigan’s average gas price hit $4.86 on Friday — the highest level the state has seen since 2022. 

Four days after President Donald Trump began the war, Rogers, a former FBI agent and chair of the House Intelligence Committee, praised the United States’ efforts. The former congressman also predicted that the conflict would not last longer than 60 days in an interview with WJR’s Kevin Dietz. 

“When this is done, I think you’re going to have a much safer, more predictable national security picture, and I don’t think it’s going to take more than that 60 day timeframe that they’re talking about, because now they’re just in phase two,” Rogers said on March 4.

May 1 marked 60 days since the war began. After a tentative ceasefire on April 8 and several rounds of failed peace talks, the conflict has no clear end in sight. On Friday, Trump said he was dissatisfied with Iran’s latest peace proposal. 

The 60-day threshold is also important because the president needs approval from Congress to continue the war under the War Powers Resolution, a law passed in 1973 to check the executive branch’s power to conduct war. In a hearing on Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told senators that the 60-day threshold does not apply because of the ongoing ceasefire with Iran. 

Gas prices nearing record high

On March 17, Rogers spoke at an event with the Oakland University College Republicans. There, he dismissed concerns from audience members about rising gas prices because of the Iranian conflict and reassured them that the United States has plenty of oil. 

“And by the way, you’ll get your oil, because we’re going to pump our oil right here in America and we got plenty,” Rogers said.

On Friday, the average gas price in Michigan reached $4.86, up from $2.99 on March 1, one day after the war began. It is the highest price since 2022, when gas prices in the state reached an all-time record $5.22

Rogers’ campaign did not respond to a request to comment for this story, or if he still supports Trump’s actions in Iran despite the economic impact in his state. 

Rogers is making his second consecutive attempt to run for one of Michigan’s U.S. Senate seat after now Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) narrowly defeated him by 19,006 votes in 2024. Rogers is the likely Republican nominee in 2026 as he seeks to replace Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), who is not seeking reelection.