Trump seeks DOJ review of oil companies over gasoline prices
The president accused major oil firms of price gouging as high pump prices threaten to weigh on Republicans before the midterms.
By Hana Yoshida · Markets Reporter
3 min read
President Donald Trump said he has asked the Justice Department to examine whether major oil companies are keeping gasoline prices too high, raising the pressure on an industry that backed his return to office. The dispute matters because fuel costs remain a daily inflation marker for voters as Republicans try to defend narrow congressional majorities in the midterm elections.
In a Wednesday post on Truth Social, Trump said large oil companies had not lowered prices at the pump in line with what he described as sharply lower oil costs. He said consumers were being “gouged” and said he had directed the Justice Department to investigate, though he did not give a timetable or describe the scope of any inquiry.
Fortune reported that Trump later named Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP and Shell while speaking with reporters, accusing them of failing to cut gasoline prices after recent declines in oil prices. Fuel analysts commonly note that lower crude prices can take weeks or months to show up at gas stations because pump prices also reflect refining, distribution, inventories and other costs.
Administration cites affordability concerns
A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment to Fortune on any potential investigation. The spokesperson said gasoline prices, which Fortune reported were averaging $3.91 a gallon compared with $3.22 a year earlier, were a concern for the administration because fuel costs affect household budgets and national security.
A White House spokesperson also did not directly address a possible probe, according to Fortune. The spokesperson said the administration expects oil and gas prices to fall “as soon as the Iran situation is resolved” and said Trump is focused on economic relief.
Shell declined to comment to Fortune. Chevron Chief Financial Officer Eimear Bonner told CNBC on Thursday that oil and gas companies were doing everything they could to lower prices, but said reductions would take time because there is a lag between crude oil declines and prices paid at the pump.
The American Petroleum Institute, the main oil industry trade group, also pointed to that gap. Bethany Williams, a spokesperson for the group, told Fortune that gasoline prices do not move in step with crude prices during a major global disruption affecting supply, refining and inventories.
Donors now under pressure
Trump’s criticism marks a break from his 2024 campaign posture toward the oil and gas industry. The Washington Post reported that Trump asked oil executives at a private April campaign event for $1 billion in donations, presenting the request in the context of potential tax and regulatory benefits if he returned to office.
Climate Power, an advocacy group, reported in 2025 that oil companies including Continental Resources and Occidental Petroleum directed $96 million to Trump’s reelection effort between January 2023 and November 2024. The same report said large oil and gas companies spent $445 million during the 2024 cycle when advertising, donations to other Republicans and congressional lobbying were included.
OpenSecrets reported that Chevron donated about $10 million during the 2024 elections, with nearly all of that going to conservative organizations or affiliates. Fortune also cited past public support for Trump from oil figures including Continental Resources founder Harold Hamm and Occidental Petroleum CEO Vicki Hollub.
Energy companies have benefited from higher oil prices tied to the Middle East conflict, according to several reports cited by Fortune. The Guardian reported that the six largest oil and gas firms gained $130 billion in market capitalization during the first two weeks of the war, while the Democratic minority on Congress’s Joint Economic Committee said Americans paid $8.4 billion more for gas in the war’s first month.
Gallup reported Thursday that two-thirds of Americans surveyed earlier this month said fuel costs had caused financial hardship for their household. That pressure has left Trump attacking companies that were central to his campaign coalition while his administration waits for pump prices to fall.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.