(World Oil) – Oil executives have emerged as an increasingly important source of funding for Donald Trump, as industry titans open their wallets to bolster the Republican nominee’s campaign for a second term in the White House.
The billionaires backing Trump include Kelcy Warren, chief executive officer of pipeline operator Energy Transfer LP; Harold Hamm, the founder of Continental Resources Inc.; and Jeff Hildebrand, CEO of Hilcorp Energy Co.
Trump sought more support last week with fundraisers in Midland, Texas, the heart of the prolific Permian Basin, and Houston, the self-styled “energy capital of the world.” The latest swing builds on May events with donors in Dallas and Houston and a closed-door energy roundtable with executives at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida.
Oil executives and employees have grown in significance for Trump as his fundraising base has narrowed. The industry is now his fourth-biggest source of cash, up six places from the 2020 election cycle, according to campaign data analyzed by OpenSecrets.
The dynamic underscores the tightening bond between the oil industry, the GOP and its standard-bearer Trump. Although energy bosses have long looked to Republican allies in Washington to advance policy priorities, that focus has intensified with the decline of oil-patch Democrats in the House and Senate.
“Oil chiefs have become almost a bottomless well of cash for Trump,” said Tyson Slocum, director of the energy program at the watchdog group Public Citizen. “The oil companies are flush — and they’ve got a very mature lobbying and influence pipeline into D.C.”
Trump is promising to make it easier to “drill, baby, drill” and to repeal Biden-era pollution curbs on autos and power plants. He’s also promised to immediately end President Joe Biden’s pause on new natural gas-export licenses.
“Kamala Harris is controlled by environmental extremists who are trying to implement the most radical energy agenda in history and force Americans to purchase electric vehicles they can’t afford,” said Karoline Leavitt, national press secretary for the Trump campaign. “President Trump is supported by people who share his vision of American energy dominance to protect our national security and bring down the cost of living for all Americans.”
Earlier in the campaign, oil luminaries such as Hamm and Hildebrand were cool to Trump’s bid for another term. A skeptical Hamm contributed to GOP rivals Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis, while Hildebrand and his wife Melinda together cut checks to at least five other Republican presidential candidates.
But as the Republican field narrowed, donors coalesced behind Trump. They included Parsley Energy Founder Bryan Sheffield, who sent $844,600 to the Trump 47 political action committee in May.
“Trump is pro-energy and pro-business,” said Sheffield. “But I don’t think he’s ever put us at the top of the list.”
Even so, Sheffield added, Trump is far better for the oil industry than Vice President Harris.
Trump’s industry appeals have drawn notice on Capitol Hill, where Democrats have zeroed in an April meeting with executives in Florida. During the session, he scoffed at wind power, said he’d undo some environmental regulations and asked the group to raise $1 billion, a massive sum for any group of donors to contribute, according to people familiar with the exchange.
Oil and natural gas interests have given just a small percentage of that monumental ask, giving just $22.4 million so far to Trump’s campaign, the Republican party and an allied super PAC, according to OpenSecrets, with most of the money coming from a small number of donors writing hefty checks. Just 6% of the total was raised by the campaign, which can accept donations of up to $3,300 per election from an individual, while 57% went to super PACs, which can accept donations in unlimited amounts.
