Trump orders Justice Department probe into oil companies over gas prices

Donald Trump ordered the Justice Department to immediately examine Shell, ExxonMobil, BP and Chevron over what he called gasoline price gouging, accusing the companies of failing to cut pump prices fast enough as crude oil costs eased. The president told reporters the companies were not lowering prices “commensurate” with cheaper oil and said consumers were being gouged.

The political clash landed against a clear downward move at the pump. AAA said the national average for regular gasoline fell from $4.56 on May 21 to $4.12 by June 11, then to $3.99 on June 18, the first time it had been below $4 since March 30, before slipping again to about $3.93 on June 24. AAA tied part of the decline to crude oil staying below $100 a barrel and to relief after the U.S. and Iran reached a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

That matters because Trump’s accusation points to a different question than the one drivers see on the sign: whether retailers and refiners are holding prices up through collusion or whether the spread between crude and gasoline reflects the usual lag in the fuel chain. The gap can widen when refineries are constrained, regional supply is tight, or inventories are thin, and those factors often explain why retail prices do not move in lockstep with crude.

The move also put Trump in a rare public confrontation with major oil producers, companies that are usually viewed as close allies of his administration. Reuters reported that Trump named Exxon Mobil and Chevron among the firms under scrutiny, while other reporting said BP and Shell were also singled out. It was not immediately clear whether a formal investigation had already been opened.

Any Justice Department probe would have to prove more than frustration at prices that did not fall fast enough. It would need evidence that companies coordinated pricing, manipulated supply, or otherwise broke the law, not simply that they preserved margins while crude softened.

The broader backdrop was already politically charged. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee ranking member Sheldon Whitehouse and Sen. Elizabeth Warren said 27 oil and gas companies made more than $40 billion in profit in the first quarter of 2026, with Shell and BP’s adjusted earnings doubling from the fourth quarter of 2025. That profit picture gave Democrats fresh ammunition, but the retail numbers showed gasoline prices had already been retreating for several weeks before Trump turned the Justice Department into the next battleground.