Trump Orders DOJ Investigation of Chevron ExxonMobil Shell and BP

President Donald Trump stated on 24 June 2026 that he had ordered the Department of Justice to investigate Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, and BP for allegedly gouging drivers by not lowering fuel prices after wholesale oil costs fell. Speaking to reporters in the White House on Wednesday, Trump said gasoline prices should be much lower at the pump.

He added that oil prices have come down so much and that drivers are not seeing corresponding reductions.

"We should be, in my opinion, at $2.25 a gallon right now at the pump and we are higher than that," Trump said. Trump posted earlier that he believed drivers are being gouged by energy firms and that he had ordered the Department of Justice to immediately start looking into this.

A DOJ spokesperson told the BBC that the price of fuel is not only a national security issue but impacts the wallet of every American, without confirming whether an investigation had been launched.

A White House spokesperson stated that President Trump was clear there would be short-term, temporary disruptions to energy markets and that oil and gas prices will quickly fall as soon as the Iran situation is resolved. The American Petroleum Institute said fuel prices do not move in lockstep with crude oil.

Its spokesperson Bethany Williams said the industry shares the goal of delivering relief at the pump and restoring stability to global energy markets, adding that the conflict is still affecting supply, refining, and inventories.

On 28 February, Iran responded to US-Israeli strikes by effectively shutting the Strait of Hormuz waterway. Brent crude reached almost $120 a barrel in May during the conflict. On Wednesday, Brent crude dropped to around $74 a barrel and WTI crude dipped to $70 a barrel.

The average price of regular gasoline in the US has fallen to about $3.93 a gallon after topping $4 a gallon in April, its highest since 2022, but remains above pre-conflict levels.