Big Oil Pours Big Money into Buying Back the White House

Big Oil is pouring big money into its campaign to buy back the White House for the presidential candidate who will put their profits first.

Petroleum pipeline billionaire Kelcy Warren and his spouse have invested $5 million so far this election cycle into Donald Trump’s campaign. Warren began his contributions to Trump in 2016, and also helped fund Trump’s inauguration event. His company, Energy Transfer, had built the Dakota Access pipeline over the furious objections of Native American communities along its thousand-plus-mile route from North Dakota to Illinois. Under the Obama Administration, operating approval for the pipeline stalled. 

Immediately after taking office in January 2017, however, Trump signed an executive order allowing the disputed pipeline to begin pumping oil. Warren sees a second Trump term as a ticket to more big payoffs for his business. 

$14 Million

Warren’s dirty money dump is only part of the gusher of petrodollars into Trump’s election campaign. According to campaign contributions-tracking website Open Secrets, the oil and gas industry has pumped over $14 million into Trump’s campaign and its supporting PACs. 

It’s easy to understand why. Trump has promised a plethora of approvals for new drilling sites, offshore oil/gas leases, and weaker regulations. He’s promised to stop wind energy projects (as he did in his first term) and repeal the renewable energy programs contained in the Inflation Reduction Act. 

For petroleum profiteers, backing Trump is a no-brainer. For the rest of us, the choice should be equally clear the other way around.