Senate Democrats launch investigation into Trump’s alleged “quid pro quo” with oil executives

Senate Democrats have launched an investigation into recent reports that Donald Trump offered oil executives the opportunity to roll back some of his climate policies after President Joe Biden’s re-election in exchange for campaign donations.

The chairmen of the Senate Finance and Budget Committee announced in a joint statement on Thursday that they had sent letters to nine oil companies – including ExxonMobile and Chevron – requesting additional information related to a fundraising event in which Trump allegedly demanded $1 billion in campaign contributions in return for promising policy changes to benefit their companies.

The committees are requesting “descriptions of the policy proposals discussed” and “materials distributed to all attendees” of the event. Last week, the House Oversight Committee made a similar request to these companies.

“Both Mr. Trump and the U.S. oil and gas industry have proven time and again that they are willing to betray Americans to line their own pockets,” Senators Ron Wyden of Oregon and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island said in a statement. “And now, emboldened by their impunity, Mr. Trump and the oil industry are putting their indifference to the economic well-being of American citizens on full display for all to see and discussing how to trade campaign funds for policy change. Such potential abuses must be closely investigated.”

The congressional investigation follows an exclusive report by The Washington Post earlier this month detailing an April fundraiser at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago resort. Sources with knowledge of the meeting told The Post that a senior official there expressed frustration with current environmental regulations and said he had spent $400 million lobbying the Biden administration.

In response, Trump reportedly promised to roll back some of his climate policies in exchange for a $1 billion donation to his re-election campaign. For example, according to the Washington Post, he would end the Biden administration’s ban on several upcoming liquefied natural gas export projects “on day one.”

The committees are seeking information on any donations the company has made since January 2023 to the 2024 Trump campaign or other political organizations supporting his re-election efforts. The chairmen have also requested copies of any “draft executive orders” or “other policy-related documents prepared for potential use in a possible Trump campaign.”

Trump’s campaign team sharply criticized the investigation on Thursday and sought to contrast the former president’s climate program with Biden’s, accusing Biden of being “controlled by environmental extremists who are trying to implement the most radical energy agenda in history.”

“President Trump is supported by people who share his vision of American energy dominance to protect our national security and lower the cost of living for all Americans,” Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told CNN.

During his first term, Trump repealed more than 100 environmental regulations and policies of the Obama administration. The Biden administration has spent much of its term reversing Trump’s policies and enacting stricter regulations to combat climate-damaging air pollution from vehicles, power plants and the oil and gas industry.

Trump has vowed that if re-elected, he will reverse these measures and boost fossil fuel and oil and gas production.

CNN’s Morgan Rimmer, Kate Sullivan, Ella Nilsen and Jeremy Herb contributed to this report.

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