Donald Trump · DOJ · Fortune Technology
Trump turns on Big Oil donors who spent nearly $100 million to get him elected—now he wants the DOJ to investigate them for
Compiled by KHAO Editorial — aggregated from 1 source. See llms.txt for citation guidance.
◌ Single Source
Oil and gas chiefs may have quietly cracked a smile when Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election.
Key facts
- Between January 2023 and November 2024, oil companies such as Continental and Occidental funneled $96 million directly into Trump’s reelection campaign, according to a 2025 report from Climate Power
- A Justice Department spokesperson did not comment on the proposed investigations, but said rising gasoline costs—now sitting at an average of $3.91 a gallon, up from $3.22 a year ago—were a challenge
- Taking into account spending on advertising, donations to downballot Republicans, and congressional lobbying efforts, large oil and gas companies invested $445 million during the 2024 election cycle
- In the first month of the war alone, Americans paid $8.4 billion extra in gas costs, according to research from the Joint Economic Committee’s Democratic minority
Summary
But the special relationship between the president and the country’s fossil fuel industry has been frosty as of late. “The big Oil Companies are not dropping their price at the pump commensurate with the sharply lower prices they are paying for Oil,” he wrote. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Trump explicitly accused Chevron, EonMobil, BP, and Shell of not cutting gasoline prices despite oil costs having fallen in recent weeks. For months, the economy has been saddled with sticky gasoline prices stemming from the conflict in the Middle East and resulting energy shock.