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US President Donald Trump has turned his fire on some of America’s biggest oil companies, saying Exxon Mobil and Chevron are among firms being investigated as gasoline prices remain elevated despite a sharp decline in crude oil prices.
The move marks a rare public confrontation between Trump and the fossil fuel industry, long regarded as one of his closest corporate allies, and underscores the political sensitivity of fuel prices as American consumers continue to feel the pinch at the pump.
Speaking on Wednesday, Trump said oil companies were
not passing on the benefits of falling crude prices quickly enough and accused motorists of being “gouged”.
“The big Oil Companies are not dropping their price at the pump commensurate with the sharply lower prices they are paying for Oil. Those prices are dropping like a rock! In other words, customers are being ‘gouged’,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“I have instructed the DOJ to immediately start looking into this. Gasoline prices better start going down a lot faster than what I’m seeing!” he added.
Crude prices retreat, but relief at the pump remains elusive
Trump’s frustration stems from a growing disconnect between global oil markets and prices paid by motorists.
US benchmark crude oil has fallen sharply as tensions in West Asia eased and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz showed signs of recovery. Brent crude futures fell 1 per cent to $76.30 a barrel on Wednesday, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude declined 1.1 per cent to $72.43 a barrel. Both benchmarks have now dropped to their lowest levels since early March after posting losses of around 1 per cent on Tuesday.
The decline has brought crude prices close to levels seen before hostilities erupted between the United States and Iran.
Yet gasoline prices have moved more slowly.
Trump’s remarks came even as data showed Americans are already seeing some relief at the pump. Gasoline prices fell for a sixth straight week, dropping 14.1 cents a gallon over the past week to a national average of $3.85 per gallon on Monday, according to price-tracking service GasBuddy. That marks a 15 per cent decline from the May peak.
Prices fell in most states. Gasoline dropped 25 cents a gallon in Colorado over the past week, 22 cents in Arizona and 21 cents in Ohio, GasBuddy data showed.
Still, the issue has become increasingly problematic for Trump, who repeatedly assured voters during the conflict that fuel prices would drop quickly once tensions eased.
A familiar political playbook
Trump’s accusations echo arguments made by former President Joe Biden during the energy crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
At the time, Biden accused oil companies of profiting from geopolitical turmoil as gasoline prices surged above $5 per gallon. California Governor Gavin Newsom has similarly blamed oil companies for high fuel costs and pushed for investigations into alleged price manipulation.
For Trump, however, the criticism represents a notable shift. Since returning to the White House, he has championed domestic energy production, eased environmental regulations and expanded access to federal lands for drilling.
The latest dispute suggests that when fuel prices become a political liability, even traditional allies can find themselves in Washington’s crosshairs.
Industry rejects price-gouging claims
Oil executives and industry groups have pushed back against Trump’s allegations, arguing that fuel markets do not react instantly to movements in crude prices.
Gasoline sold at service stations is often refined from oil purchased weeks earlier. Refiners, distributors and retailers must work through existing inventories before lower crude costs are reflected in retail prices.
“The market doesn’t reprice every gallon overnight,” Bryan Sheffield, managing partner of oil-and-gas producer Formentera Partners, said, adding that consumers would eventually see the benefits of lower crude prices, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The American Petroleum Institute (API), the industry’s largest trade association, also defended the sector.
“Gasoline prices don’t move in lockstep with crude oil, especially during a major global disruption that is still affecting supply, refining and inventories,” API spokeswoman Bethany Williams said.
Industry leaders argue that investigations into alleged fuel-price gouging have historically failed to uncover systematic wrongdoing, with market dynamics rather than manipulation usually explaining price movements.
Trump tests ties with Big Oil
The confrontation could create fresh tensions between the White House and an industry that has largely benefited from Trump’s pro-energy agenda.
Oil executives had welcomed the administration’s efforts to ensure the Strait of Hormuz remained open during the Iran conflict, warning that prolonged disruptions would have pushed fuel prices significantly higher.
The recovery in shipping through the strait has helped ease some of the pressure. Two smaller crude tankers sailed through the waterway on Monday, even though Iran said it had again closed the route over the weekend. Transits remain well below levels seen before the conflict began in late February, but the gradual return of traffic has reduced fears of a sudden energy shock.
However, supply risks have not disappeared.
Tighter supplies from refinery outages and the approaching Atlantic hurricane season could still reverse recent price declines. TotalEnergies shut down its 238,000 barrel-per-day refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, last week after a lightning strike knocked out power. A full restart is expected within seven days. On Sunday, a fire also broke out at Marathon Petroleum’s 631,000-barrel-per-day Galveston Bay refinery in Texas City, Texas.
Friction between Trump and the industry has surfaced before. Energy companies criticised Trump’s tariffs on Canadian imports and steel, while his repeated calls for lower oil prices have frustrated producers concerned about profitability.
Administration officials have privately signalled that consumer interests will take precedence when fuel costs become a political issue.
That calculation is particularly important as inflation remains a major concern for American households and a key issue heading into future elections.
The bigger challenge for Trump
Analysts say the dispute highlights the limits of political influence over global energy markets.
Gasoline prices are shaped by a complex web of factors, including crude oil costs, refinery capacity, transportation expenses, inventories and regional supply-demand conditions. As a result, retail fuel prices often take weeks to fully reflect changes in crude markets.
There is also no guarantee that oil prices will remain low.
Inventories remain tight in several regions, while recovering energy demand from major Asian economies such as China, Japan and South Korea could support prices in the coming months. Any fresh disruption to Middle Eastern energy supplies could quickly reverse recent declines.
The drop in gasoline prices may ease pressure on Trump and fellow Republicans, who are trying to hold narrow majorities in Congress in November’s midterm elections and have faced criticism from consumers over high prices.
For now, Trump finds himself confronting a politically uncomfortable reality: while crude prices have largely returned to pre-conflict levels, motorists have yet to see comparable relief at the pump.
The Department of Justice has not yet said what form any investigation might take. But any review could examine whether refiners, distributors or retailers are keeping margins unusually high despite lower crude costs.
And as fuel costs remain elevated, the president appears determined to ensure that Big Oil shares the blame.
