Biden Offers Longshot Bid to Pause Fuel Taxes as Options Dwindle

President Joe Biden called on Congress to suspend the federal gasoline tax, a largely symbolic move by an embattled president running out of options to ease pump prices weighing on Democrats’ political prospects.

“By suspending the 18-cent federal gas tax for the next 90 days, we can bring down the price of gas and give families just a little bit of relief,” Biden said Wednesday at the White House.

It was an all-but-futile appeal, however, as lawmakers -- even Democrats -- quickly signaled they had little appetite for the move. Representative Richard Neal, the Democratic chairman of the tax-writing ...