House Democrats have launched a probe into dinner held by former President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate with oil executives that reportedly included a $1 billion ask by the GOP’s presumptive presidential nominee in exchange for more favorable energy policies if he’s reelected.
The Washington Post reported last week that Trump told the executives that they should raise $1 billion to help his campaign in exchange for reversing many of President Joe Biden’s environmental rules and policies regulating the U.S. oil industry. Trump, the Post reported, called it a “deal” for the executives because of the costs they would avoid through lower taxes and fewer regulations.
Separately, Politico reported last week that oil industry executives and lobbyists are drafting “ready-to-sign” executive orders for Trump to sign if reelected that would benefit their bottom line.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., announced the investigation on Tuesday through his role as the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee. He penned letters to eight oil companies and an industry trade association seeking information about the Mar-a-Lago meeting and the reported pay-for-play deal.
“Mr. Trump’s unvarnished quid pro quo offer is especially troubling evidence in light of recent accounts that the ‘U.S. oil industry is drawing up ready-to-sign executive orders for Donald Trump aimed at pushing natural gas exports, cutting drilling costs and increasing offshore oil leases in case he wins a second term,’” Raskin said in a statement, citing the Politico report. “These preparatory actions suggest that certain oil and gas companies, which have a track record of using deceitful tactics to undermine effective climate policy may have already accepted or facilitated Mr. Trump’s explicit corrupt bargain.”
The companies Raskin wrote letters to include: Chevron, ExxonMobil, Continental Resources, Chesapeake Energy, Occidental Petroleum, Venture Global LNG. Cheniere Energy, EQT Corporation and the American Petroleum Institute. API, an industry trade association, said Raskin's letter was "patently false and an attempt to distract" from the debate over energy policy.
"As the leading voice for America’s energy workforce, API regularly meets with policymakers and candidates and shares our priorities — the same priorities that we post in detail on our website; in speeches, statements and public events; in regulatory filings and court dockets. The meeting last month was no different," API spokesperson Andrea Woods said in a statement.
Most of the companies did not immediately return requests for comment from Spectrum News on Tuesday. Cheniere Energy spokesperson Stephanie Knapik declined to comment and ExxonMobil spokesperson Elise Otten wrote in an email the company had “no information to share” about the reported meeting or the congressional investigation.
"Venture Global regularly engages with government officials — both past and present — on a bipartisan basis and this meeting was no different. We would welcome a similar conversation with President Biden at any time," Venture Global LNG spokesperson Shaylyn Hynes said in an email. Hynes did not address additional questions about the meeting, the reported quid pro quo or whether Venture Global LNG is involved in the drafting of executive orders.
Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment as well, but Trump did discuss the oil industry in unrelated remarks before heading into his New York City criminal trial on Tuesday morning.
“In Michigan, the oil industry is doing very poorly because jobs are starting to leave,” Trump said of the key swing state known for its automakers. He was railing against Biden’s policies promoting electric vehicle manufacturing in the U.S.
After the Post report came out last Thursday, Trump ignored shouted questions from reporters at his trial about the meeting with oil executives.
“Donald Trump is selling out working families to Big Oil for campaign checks. It’s that simple. Trump isn’t fighting for what’s best for American families, cheaper energy, or our climate — he only cares about winning this election and will sell out working families to special interests to do it," Biden campaign spokesperson Ammar Moussa said at the time. “It doesn't matter to Trump that oil and gas companies charge working families and middle-class Americans whatever they want while raking in record profits — if Donald can cash a check, he’ll do what they say.”
Biden himself brought up the Post report at four separate campaign events over the weekend, according to transcripts provided by the White House.
Trump is a longtime champion of the oil industry and opponent to climate mitigation efforts and green energy technologies. Over the weekend, he denounced the construction of wind turbines at a New Jersey rally. And frequently over the course of the 2024 campaign, Trump has said he would be a dictator on “day one,” in part to order more oil and natural gas drilling in the United States.
Because Democrats are in the minority, Raskin’s investigation is likely not to have teeth without the cooperation of Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., a close ally to Trump and no friend to Raskin. But Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat who chairs the Senate Budget Committee, has expressed interest in a similar investigation armed with subpoena power.
The reported billion dollar ask is “practically an invitation to ask questions about Big Oil’s political corruption and manipulation,” Whitehouse said in a statement to the Post. “Fossil fuel malfeasance will cost Americans trillions in climate damages, and the Budget Committee is looking at how to ensure the industry cannot simply buy off politicians in order to saddle taxpayers with the bill.”