“The President has called for companies to lower their prices at the pump; this company responded to the President’s call for action,” the White House official says. “They are simply reducing their margin to make prices at the pump more affordable for drivers in Philadelphia and New Jersey. This retailer is taking the lead, others should follow.”

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the first location, opened on Tuesday, was converted from a previous Sunoco station in Dresher, Pennsylvania. Patrick De Hann, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, a tech company that helps people find cheaper gas, told the outlet that the pricing model of Freedom Fuel could not be profitable. 

“Stations selling at this price, it’s not sustainable,” De Haan said. “Generally, when losses happen, somebody’s got to pay for it.”

Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts accused the Trump Administration of running the gas stations and suggested that such involvement in the initiative would be hypocritical, referencing the Administration’s critiques of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s proposal for public grocery stores.