Donald J.Trump orders DOJ probe into oil companies over gas price “gouging”

accused major oil companies of failing to pass falling crude prices on to consumers and directed the Department of Justice to investigate.

WHITE HOUSE — Donald J.Trump directed the Department of Justice to investigate major oil companies for alleged price gouging at the pump on a Truth Social post on June 23, 2026 at 11:12 PM EST.

Here is the full post (see truthsocial.com): “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.” 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! President DJT”

Trump accused large oil producers of keeping retail gasoline prices high even as wholesale crude oil costs have fallen sharply. He characterized the gap between falling crude prices and stable pump prices as consumer gouging, and he demanded faster relief for drivers.

The directive targets the Department of Justice, which would examine whether oil companies engaged in anticompetitive behavior or coordinated pricing strategies that kept gasoline costs elevated. A DOJ investigation into fuel pricing could involve scrutiny of refining margins, distribution markups, and retail pricing decisions across the supply chain (see howstuffworks.com).

Major integrated energy companies such as ExxonMobil and Chevron dominate the domestic oil market and would face the closest examination under any federal probe (see energydigital.com). These firms control significant portions of refining capacity and retail fuel distribution in the United States, giving them substantial influence over the price consumers pay at the pump (see wikipedia.org).

Crude oil prices have declined in recent months amid shifting global supply dynamics and demand forecasts (see capital.com). The gap between crude oil benchmarks and retail gasoline prices has widened at various points in the past, drawing bipartisan criticism from lawmakers who argue that oil companies profit from slow price adjustments.

A DOJ investigation could compel oil companies to provide internal pricing data and communications. Federal antitrust investigators would need to establish whether companies coordinated pricing or whether market conditions and refining bottlenecks explain the lag between falling crude costs and pump prices.

Consumers stand to benefit if the investigation pressures oil companies to lower retail gasoline prices more quickly. Past federal scrutiny of fuel pricing has produced mixed results, with investigations sometimes concluding that market forces rather than deliberate gouging drove price disparities.

Trump has addressed domestic policy 36 times in his last 653 Truth Social posts over the past 30 days, making energy pricing a recurring theme in his public messaging.

Source: Zenger analysis
Note: Table generated by NewsFindr on June 23, 2026 at 11:17 PM EST

Source: Zenger real-time database of all Truth Social posts.
Note: Chart generated on June 23, 2026 at 11:17 PM EST