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Aug 27 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump is expected to meet with U.S. refiners and fuel retailers next week to highlight efforts to lower gasoline prices, as his administration seeks to ease pressure on consumers from the Iran war ahead of November’s congressional midterm elections, people familiar with the matter said.

The political stakes are high for Trump and his fellow Republicans, who are trying to defend narrow majorities in Congress in November.

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Attendees of the meeting are expected to include refiners like Valero Energy Corp, Marathon Petroleum Corporation and PBF Energy Inc, along with major retailers, according to two sources familiar with the plans.

The biggest U.S. oil companies and refiners reported strong second-quarter earnings as the Iran war disrupted global energy markets and tightened supplies of gasoline and other refined products.

Those results have drawn criticism from Trump, who has argued that oil companies benefiting from higher prices should do more to bring down costs for consumers. Trump has publicly pressed major producers and refiners to lower prices.

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A coalition of U.S. farm and biofuel groups has urged President Donald Trump to reject a proposed expansion of exemptions from the nation's biofuel blending requirements, warning that a surge in waivers for small refineries would hurt rural America by undercutting demand for American crops and renewable fuels.

The White House is backing a plan to significantly expand the controversial small refinery exemption program, according to people familiar with the matter. They said officials want to tame gasoline prices that have risen during the war with Iran, which could help Trump's fellow Republicans retain control of Congress in November's midterm elections.

The prospect of a large expansion of refinery waivers has already sent prices for renewable fuel credits, known as RINs, sharply lower as traders anticipate weaker demand for biofuels, of which Iowa is the nation's leading producer.

Oil refiners and farmers have long disagreed about whether consumers ultimately pay more when renewable fuel credit prices rise.

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The administration is considering roughly doubling the size of the exemptions, from about 950 million credits to as many as 1.8 billion, sources have told Reuters. A decision is expected before the end of August.

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The Renewable Fuel Standard requires refiners and fuel importers to blend specified amounts of ethanol and biodiesel into the U.S. fuel supply or buy renewable identification numbers, known as RINs, to demonstrate compliance.

Small-refinery exemptions allow certain smaller refineries to avoid some or all of those obligations if they can demonstrate disproportionate economic hardship. When the administration grants exemptions, the exempted gallons are effectively removed from the market unless the obligation is later reallocated.

U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, an Iowa Republican, has criticized the potential expansion of small refinery exemptions, telling Reuters in a statement that it is "a handout to Big Oil falsely marketed as relief at the pump."

"You don't lower gas prices by taking American-made biofuel off the market, and these exemptions will crush demand for corn and soybeans while padding the pockets of refiners already making record profits. Farmers lose, consumers get nothing, and oil companies rake in the cash," Ernst said.

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Count me in as supporting the Trump Administration in expanding the exemptions. I'd like less vegetables in my gasoline.