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The stories that count on money and politics in the race for the White House
US Senate Democrats have launched an investigation into allegations that Donald Trump sought a deal with major oil and gas companies that would require him to repeal environmental regulations if he was re-elected president in exchange for $1 billion dollars in industrial contributions to his campaign.
The investigation sheds light on the industry’s dealings with the former president, a day after he toured Texas on a fundraising campaign targeting wealthy fossil fuel executives.
It’s part of a campaign by Democrats to highlight Trump’s ties to the industry ahead of the November election.
In letters sent Thursday to the heads of companies including ExxonMobil, Chevron and Occidental Petroleum, the senators called on executives to turn over documents from an April meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, detailing all the promises he made to them and the contributions they made. in his campaign.
“Such an obvious transaction between politicians and money reeks of cronyism and corruption,” wrote Sheldon Whitehouse and Ron Wyden, chairs of the Senate Budget and Finance committees, respectively.
“This solicitation, coupled with troubling reports that fossil fuel interests and other businesses have drafted provisions for use in pro-business executive orders during a possible second Trump administration, demand immediate additional investigation.” , they added.
The letter comes after Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin wrote to the companies as part of a similar investigation earlier this month. Raskin and Whitehouse this week asked the Justice Department to investigate the industry’s efforts to mislead the public about climate change.
The American Petroleum Institute, whose chief executive was among the recipients of the letters, called Thursday’s decision “yet another election-year stunt.”
“API meets with candidates and policymakers to discuss the need for sound energy policies, and this meeting was no different,” said a spokesperson for the Washington-based industry lobbying group.
The senators also wrote to oil and gas producers Chesapeake Energy, Chevron, Continental Resources, EQT, ExxonMobil and Occidental, as well as LNG developers Cheniere and Venture Global. Chesapeake, Exxon and Cheniere declined to comment; the others did not respond to requests for comment.
With less than six months until the election, energy has become a crucial battleground between President Joe Biden and Trump. Despite record production and profits in recent years, Biden’s environmental crackdown has irked industry players, many of whom financed his opponent’s campaign, despite misgivings about his volatility and support for tariffs that risk to undermine demand for oil.
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“I think there are a lot of reluctant Trump voters — even more so than in the last election,” said one Houston-based financier.
If re-elected, Trump has pledged to free the industry and allow it to “drill, baby, drill.” His fundraising campaign targeted the industry’s wealthiest executives, who were sympathetic to his message of deregulation.
At a fundraising luncheon in Houston hosted Wednesday by Continental President Harold Hamm and Occidental boss Vicki Hollub, donors paid up to $100,000 per couple to attend a panel discussion with the former president and $25,000 per couple for photo shoots.
