President Trump is intensifying efforts to address affordability ahead of the midterms, as high prices, economic uncertainty and declining approval ratings threaten Republicans on the November ballot. Trump met at the White House with oil and gas retailers and refineries as oil prices rose amid renewed U.S. strikes against Iran. The meeting followed his announcement of an oil agreement with Venezuela, which he said would reduce energy costs. The administration has also announced Medicaid pricing agreements with nine midsize biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, expanded TrumpRx and paused beef import tariffs temporarily despite opposition from cattle ranchers and Republican allies in Congress. Under the drug agreements, participating companies will charge state Medicaid programs the same prices for certain outpatient medicines as they charge foreign countries under Trump’s most favored nation plan, while receiving protection from pharmaceutical tariffs. Trump said healthcare was particularly important because it concerns life. The Venezuela agreement would involve working with a Venezuelan oil company to extract large volumes from the country’s reserves, although critics question the timeline, cost, possible legal challenges and infrastructure constraints. Trump said the deal would substantially lower gas prices long into the future, while acknowledging he could not say whether that would happen before the election. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released Monday found that 71% of Americans, including 40% of Republicans, disapprove of Trump’s handling of the cost of living. On Tuesday, U.S. oil prices reached roughly $90 per barrel, Brent crude roughly $95, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 400 points. Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods are scheduled to take effect Sept. 8, adding pressure to competitive races in Alaska, Michigan, Ohio, Maine and New Hampshire. The White House blamed Democrats and the Biden administration for the affordability crisis, while noting that annual U.S. inflation is now 3.4%, above roughly 3.0% in former President Biden’s final year but below the 9.1% peak reached in June 2022. Republican operatives said campaign advertising and spending would accelerate after Labor Day, while Trump’s MAGA Inc. super PAC could amplify initiatives such as TrumpRx.