Oil interests gave more than $75 million to Trump PACs, new analysis shows

Oil and gas interests have given an estimated $75 million to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, the Republican National Committee and affiliated committees, far more than has been previously known, according to a new analysis of federal campaign data.

Billionaires Harold Hamm of Continental Resources, Kelcy Warren of Energy Transfer Partners and Jeffery Hildebrand of Hilcorp Energy Co. are among the highest-profile oil and gas contributors to Trump, giving along with their spouses and companies more than $15 million this cycle.

But the total amount of money flowing to Trump and his allies from donors with links to fossil fuels is more than five times greater, according to an analysis by environmental group Climate Power. It comes from mine operators, shipbuilders, engineering firms, hedge funds and little-known oil producers.

That is just the campaign cash that can be found in public records; donations made to nonprofits such as 501(c)(4) organizations, also known as dark money, are usually not publicly disclosed.

“It’s important to start by looking at this systematically and structurally,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., chair of the Senate Budget Committee, who is investigating oil industry campaign donations.

Whitehouse referred to an analysis by the International Monetary Fund that found U.S. fossil fuel companies receive $700 billion of subsidies each year, when accounting for federal tax breaks and undercharging of environmental costs. He was not surprised by the contributions from oil interests to Trump.

“To protect a $700 billion subsidy, what is the amount that would be economically reasonable to spend in its defense?” Whitehouse asked.

Trump’s campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

At an April 11 dinner with oil executives at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s private club in Florida, he asked them to donate $1 billion to his campaign, saying they would save far more than that in avoided taxes and legal fees after he repealed environmental regulations, according to several attendees who requested anonymity to discuss a private event.

Trump has not raised anywhere near his $1 billion goal. But oil and gas is nevertheless one of the top industries funding his campaign, according to the watchdog group OpenSecrets. Spending from the industry is outpaced only by conservative interest groups, which themselves are heavily funded by oil and gas interests.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

© 2024 The New York Times Company