During his final press conference as Transportation Secretary, Ray LaHood said Thursday that high gas prices are here to stay.
According to Paul Bedard at the Washington Examiner, LaHood, considered the most influential Transportation Secretary in the history of that office, said, “Gas prices aren’t going down, they are not going to go down.”
The Examiner notes that, during LaHood’s tenure at DOT, the Obama administration raised the mileage goal to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025, a substantial hike that could lead to a flood of hybrids in the car market.
“The kinds of vehicles people drive I think will change dramatically,” LaHood said. “I believe that in the year 2025 when the gas standard goes to 54.5, I think just about every family in America will have some form of a hybrid.”
LaHood said that even with today’s high gas prices, “people want better gas mileage.”