GEOFF BENNETT: Democrats in Virginia today asked the U.S.

Supreme Court to intervene after the state Supreme Court struck down a voter-approved congressional map.

Meantime, President Trump says he wants to suspend the federal gas tax as Americans continue grappling with rising prices at the pump.

To discuss that more, we turn now to our Politics Monday duo.

That's Amy Walter of The Cook Political Report With Amy Walter and Tamara Keith of NPR.

It's always great to see you both.

So, as I said, Democrats this afternoon filed an emergency appeal with the U.S.

Supreme Court trying to halt this redistricting decision by Virginia's top court.

And as we came on the air, the Supreme Court basically cleared the way for Alabama to pursue new maps after the court gutted the Voting Rights Act.

So, Amy, at this point, is the playing field meaningfully tilted toward Republicans or are Democrats still benefiting from the political environment?

AMY WALTER, The Cook Political Report: Right.

Well, I think that's the best way to think about this.

From a structural standpoint -- and by structural meaning how many seats were redistricted to help one side or the other -- Republicans have an advantage.

Before the Supreme Court in Virginia and before the Supreme Court of the United States came out with their decisions, we had talked back and forth for a while about how it was basically a wash.

Now it looks as if Republicans are going to come out on top structurally.

By how many seats, we don't know yet.

We're still waiting for a number of other legal decisions.

But Republicans could get as many as six or seven seats total just through the redistricting process.

But the structural is going to meet up with the environmental.

And so I think about this a little bit like somebody who is preparing for a big flood.

And so they put sandbags in front of their property knowing that a big storm is going to come in.

In this case, the storm looks bigger than the sandbags can cover.

However, that's today.

We're going to have to wait and see as we get further into the process of how big this storm is going to look.

But, fundamentally, what it really does is it lowers the ceiling for Democrats to pick up seats in the House this year.

And it makes what looked like a very certain flip of the House from Democrat to Republican, while we still think that Democrats have an advantage, it is not as -- the certainty level has gone down.

GEOFF BENNETT: Republicans have an advantage.

AMY WALTER: The Republican -- I'm sorry.

AMY WALTER: No, no, Democrats still have an advantage in flipping control of the House.

AMY WALTER: But the uncertainty level has gone up considerably.

GEOFF BENNETT: Got it.

I love that mental picture you painted of sandbags and storms.

Tam, many of these maps, I guess we can say all of these maps were drawn with 2024 assumptions in place.

Given Democrats' recent overperformance in the special elections, are there districts where Republicans think they have it in the bag where maybe they don't?

TAMARA KEITH, National Public Radio: There is a very real risk here that voters will get the final decision and voters may not do what the people who draw the lines want them to do.

There is certainly a risk for Republicans in South Texas and some other areas, where there was a big shift towards President Trump, but where those same types of voters have indicated that they are frustrated and upset and not happy with how this second Trump term has gone.

And it's not just about the base.

It is also about whether people who voted for President Trump, who these lines are based on, whether those people just stay home if they're upset about gas prices.

They don't have to like Democrats to stay home.

They don't have to like Republicans either.

GEOFF BENNETT: Let's talk more about that because President Trump is now floating a suspension of the federal gas tax, as you mentioned, as prices climb.

Since Congress would have to approve that, is this a serious policy push or is this political messaging?

AMY WALTER: What's interesting is, we have seen plenty of candidates and presidents in the most recent era raise this possibility.

And Congress always said, no, we don't really like this because usually gas prices are so -- right, they go up and they go down.

And to suspend the gas tax means that that money does not go in to the transportation fund that goes and does really important things like roads and bridges and taking care of those things, right?

So they don't love that idea.

Congress has never really loved that idea.

Now, there is some bipartisan support for the concept of this because it no longer feels like something that's going up and down, but is just staying up.

But we also know that, fundamentally, either putting it on holiday or reducing it, whatever it is, it's not going to make much of a difference in what people are actually paying.

So, look, if you're Republicans right now looking at this midterm election, you're saying we want to show voters that we care about cost of living.

Let's do this.

And Democrats, of course, want to show they're doing the same.

But is it something that voters are really going to feel and then thank them for and, as I said, especially if five years from now they find out, oh, yes, well, we can't help you with that bridge because we're struggling get that money back?

GEOFF BENNETT: And as I understand it, Tam, it's roughly a savings of about 18 cents a gallon.

What's the White House thinking here?

TAMARA KEITH: Yes, so President Trump back in March was asked about doing a gas tax holiday or putting it on pause.

And he said, I don't think we need that now.We will keep that in our back pocket if we really need it.

Well, now he's talking about it.

So I think that means that he feels like he really needs it.

In that time, gas prices have done nothing but rise.

And this excursion that President Trump was talking about is just continuing on and on with no clear ending, the excursion being the war with Iran.

The Strait of Hormuz is still closed.

It is causing global price shocks that are likely to affect not just the cost of gas, but also the cost of food and other products that require shipping.

So since the start of the war, gas prices -- well, let's go back to the numbers I have in my head.

Sorry.

I'm going to do math and this might get tough.

But from a year ago, gas prices are up $1.40 a gallon.

This possible gas tax holiday is 18 cents.

Those two things are not equal.

And so people are going to continue to feel the pain.

Something like 80 percent of Americans are now saying that gas prices are making it hard for them.

And more than 60 percent of them blame President Trump for that.

GEOFF BENNETT: And it's part of the reason why the transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, is facing backlash for this new, I guess we can call it reality series.

It's launched on YouTube and it's basically -- as he says, it's a way to get out on the highway for America's 250th birthday.

But this is coming at a time when Americans, as we say, are frustrated by prices.

He's also facing criticism from Pete Buttigieg, who says - - in a social media post, he called the series brutally out of touch.

This was filmed over seven months and it's not funded by taxpayer dollars, the Department of Transportation says.

It's funded by private companies.

Some of those companies have business before the DOT.

So there's a lot happening here.

What's your read of it?

AMY WALTER: Right.

Right.

Well, look, I think when I talk to Republicans, a lot of them do believe that this -- by focusing on the 250th anniversary, that's an opportunity to sort of gin up enthusiasm for the country, patriotism.

And that may be something that also goes to Tam's point about waking up voters who may not be feeling particularly engaged, especially those who might have voted for Donald Trump, to come out and vote in the fall because of this wave of celebration around the 250th.

I think everybody also loves the idea.It's a pretty popular idea, the idea of throwing the whole family in the car and going on a road trip, right?

That is American as you can get.

If, however, Americans feel that they have a pinch because they're not able to fill up their car and go, that's not necessarily going to land the way they would like it to.

TAMARA KEITH: Yes, road trip is a great idea until you pull up to a gas station and it's $4.50 a gallon.

GEOFF BENNETT: Yes.

Tamara Keith, Amy Walter, thank you both.

AMY WALTER: You're welcome.