Drill, Baby, Donate
Oil and gas giants pumped $219M into the 2024 election, then collected policy returns worth billions.
~$19.8M reported but not independently checked; none of it is verified against itemized FEC filings yet. The full breakdown is in the relationship record below.
The money, at a glance
The diagram is a summary. Every relationship it draws is listed below with its type, direction, exact amount, geography, how the amount was verified, and its receipts.
Every relationship, in full
- Verified against FEC filings
- $0.00 across 0 flows, summed from itemized records
- Reported, not independently verified
- ~$19.8M across 5 flows. Deliberately not added to the figure above: an estimate plus an exact filing total is neither.
| From → to | Relationship | Direction | Amount | How it was established | Geography | Receipts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy Transfer LP / Kelcy Warren to Trump 2024 campaign / MAGA Inc. | contributed toMoney received by the recipient. | supports | ~$5.8M ($814,600 to Trump + $5M to MAGA Inc., Warren personally)USD, rounded | ReportedPublished by a news or research organization; not checked against primary filings here. | Federal / National | Source |
| Chevron Corporation to Congressional + Senate Leadership Funds | contributed toMoney received by the recipient. | supports | ~$7M ($3.5M CLF + $3.5M SLF, 2023-24 cycle)USD, rounded | ReportedPublished by a news or research organization; not checked against primary filings here. | Federal / National | Source |
| American Petroleum Institute (API) to Congressional + Senate Leadership Funds | contributed toMoney received by the recipient. | supports | ~$6M ($3M CLF + $3M SLF, 2023-24 cycle)USD, rounded | ReportedPublished by a news or research organization; not checked against primary filings here. | Federal / National | Source |
| Oil & Gas Industry (OpenSecrets sector aggregate) to Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX-11) | contributed toMoney received by the recipient. | supports | ~$573,721 (oil & gas aggregate, OpenSecrets 2024)USD, rounded | ReportedPublished by a news or research organization; not checked against primary filings here. | TX-11 | Source |
| Oil & Gas Industry (OpenSecrets sector aggregate) to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) | contributed toMoney received by the recipient. | supports | ~$445,232 (oil & gas aggregate, mid-2024; final higher)USD, rounded | ReportedPublished by a news or research organization; not checked against primary filings here. | Texas | Source |
Backers and affiliations (13) — association only, no amount and no control asserted
- Kelcy Warren (Executive Chairman, Energy Transfer LP) is associated with Energy Transfer LP / Kelcy WarrenBacker or affiliation only. Not ownership, not control, not coordination.
- ExxonMobil is associated with American Petroleum Institute (API)Backer or affiliation only. Not ownership, not control, not coordination.
- Chevron is associated with American Petroleum Institute (API)Backer or affiliation only. Not ownership, not control, not coordination.
- ConocoPhillips is associated with American Petroleum Institute (API)Backer or affiliation only. Not ownership, not control, not coordination.
- Shell is associated with American Petroleum Institute (API)Backer or affiliation only. Not ownership, not control, not coordination.
- BP and ~600 member companies is associated with American Petroleum Institute (API)Backer or affiliation only. Not ownership, not control, not coordination.
- Energy Transfer is associated with Oil & Gas Industry (OpenSecrets sector aggregate)Backer or affiliation only. Not ownership, not control, not coordination.
- Chevron is associated with Oil & Gas Industry (OpenSecrets sector aggregate)Backer or affiliation only. Not ownership, not control, not coordination.
- ExxonMobil is associated with Oil & Gas Industry (OpenSecrets sector aggregate)Backer or affiliation only. Not ownership, not control, not coordination.
- ConocoPhillips is associated with Oil & Gas Industry (OpenSecrets sector aggregate)Backer or affiliation only. Not ownership, not control, not coordination.
- Occidental Petroleum is associated with Oil & Gas Industry (OpenSecrets sector aggregate)Backer or affiliation only. Not ownership, not control, not coordination.
- Valero is associated with Oil & Gas Industry (OpenSecrets sector aggregate)Backer or affiliation only. Not ownership, not control, not coordination.
- hundreds of smaller donors & executives is associated with Oil & Gas Industry (OpenSecrets sector aggregate)Backer or affiliation only. Not ownership, not control, not coordination.
Funder → recipient → message
No message on this page has a receipt tying a specific funder to a specific recipient, so no chain is drawn. A general note about a funder's ad strategy is not evidence that any individual politician authored, received, or was the subject of that message.
The U.S. oil and gas industry spent an estimated $219 million to influence the 2024 federal election, the largest recorded outlay from the sector. The money flowed through three channels: direct PAC contributions to candidates, individual mega-donations to the Trump-aligned MAGA Inc. super PAC, and record transfers ($54.2M total) to the Congressional Leadership Fund and Senate Leadership Fund. The top House recipient, Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX-11), collected $573,721 from the industry while holding a 0% lifetime League of Conservation Voters score and sponsoring legislation to repeal the EPA methane polluter fee and expand LNG exports. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) received at least $445,232 by mid-cycle with a 3% lifetime LCV score.
The policy dividend was swift: within the first 100 days of the new administration, 145-plus environmental rules were reversed, Biden's LNG export pause was lifted, and the signature legislation included $18 billion in fossil fuel tax incentives. Energy Transfer Executive Chairman Kelcy Warren's personal net worth grew nearly 10% after the administration greenlit his stalled pipeline projects. (This page previously called him CEO and described a 90,000-mile pipeline network; the company's current page identifies him as Executive Chairman and reports approximately 140,000 miles.)
The funders
Energy Transfer LP / Kelcy Warren
Pro-fossil-fuelCompany · fossil fuel industry
Backers and affiliations (association only)
- • Kelcy Warren (Executive Chairman, Energy Transfer LP)
The organization's own words
Energy Transfer describes its business as a large, diversified North American midstream energy network. Its current website reports approximately 140,000 miles of pipelines and related infrastructure.
Correction: The 90,000-mile figure previously published here is not supported by the current inspected page, which reports approximately 140,000 miles. The same page identifies Kelcy Warren as Executive Chairman, not as the current CEO.
Chevron Corporation
Pro-fossil-fuelCompany · fossil fuel industry
The organization's own words
Chevron states an aspiration to reach net-zero upstream Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2050, subject to technology, policy, offset availability and permitting. This does not cover all emissions from customers using its products.
Correction: The previous wording dropped the scope and the conditions. The inspected aspiration is upstream Scope 1 and 2 only, subject to technology, policy, offset availability and permitting; it does not cover emissions from customers burning the products. The $7M in political spending is a separate financial claim with its own receipt and does not belong inside the company's stated position.
Our analysis, not theirs
Chevron directed $7M to Republican congressional super PACs in the 2023-24 cycle. That is our observation set against the company's stated aspiration, not part of the aspiration.
American Petroleum Institute (API)
Fossil fuel lobbyCoalition / trade association · fossil fuel industry · FEC C00483677
Identity verified. Committee totals for C00483677 were retrieved from FEC on 2026-09-13; see the committee finances view.
Ten years of this committee's reported finances
Backers and affiliations (association only)
- • ExxonMobil
- • Chevron
- • ConocoPhillips
- • Shell
- • BP and ~600 member companies
The organization's own words
API's 2021 climate framework advocates lower-carbon energy development through technology, emissions mitigation, carbon pricing, cleaner fuels and climate reporting.
Correction: Replaces an uncited paraphrase with the inspected 2021 framework. The page body dates the announcement March 25 although its URL contains March 24; the body date is used. Financial claims are kept separately sourced rather than folded into the stated position.
Our analysis, not theirs
API directed $6M to Republican congressional super PACs in the 2023-24 cycle, and its own PAC (C00483677) contributes directly to federal candidates. Those are separate financial observations, each with its own receipt. API PAC finances are the PAC's, not the trade association's and not the member companies'.
Oil & Gas Industry (OpenSecrets sector aggregate)
Industry aggregateCoalition / trade association · fossil fuel industry
Backers and affiliations (association only)
- • Energy Transfer
- • Chevron
- • ExxonMobil
- • ConocoPhillips
- • Occidental Petroleum
- • Valero
- • hundreds of smaller donors & executives
Collective giving from all oil and gas PACs, executives, and employees tracked by OpenSecrets under sector code E01. Total 2024 cycle: $219M including outside spending; 88% went to Republican candidates and committees.
No source citation on file for this stated position.
What the money is saying
Chains that connect a specific funder to a specific recipient to a specific message are in the relationship record above, where each link has its own receipt. The notes below do not make that connection and are not presented as though they do.
Funder-level strategy (3)
These describe how a funder talks overall. None is evidence that any individual politician authored, received, or was the subject of the message.
API publicly champions a 'lower-carbon future.' The receipt: $6M to CLF and SLF in 2024, whose allied lawmakers hold near-zero LCV scores and have voted to block clean energy investments, roll back the Clean Air Act, and repeal methane regulation. [source]
Chevron's inspected aspiration is net-zero upstream Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2050, conditioned on technology, policy, offset availability and permitting, and excluding emissions from customers using its products. Simultaneously, Chevron gave $7M to Republican super PACs in 2024 whose supported legislators opposed Inflation Reduction Act clean energy investments and blocked methane pollution standards. [source]
Warren gave $5.8M to Trump's campaign and MAGA Inc. in 2024. Within months, Trump reversed Biden's LNG export pause, benefiting Energy Transfer's pipelines. The Brennan Center documented this as one of the clearest donor-to-policy-return links of the cycle: the industry gave $75M+ to Trump and received 145+ rule reversals and $18B in tax incentives in the first 100 days. [source]
Context, not attributed to any funder (1)
Pfluger declared his 'primary Congressional focus' is to 'protect our oil and gas industry.' He received $573,721 from that industry (the most of any federal candidate in 2024) and holds a 0% lifetime LCV score (0 pro, 31 anti-environment votes in 2025). [source]
Read the framing carefully
Contribution patterns track committee assignments, not just party. Pfluger chairs the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, a gatekeeper for drilling permits; Cruz chairs Senate Commerce and introduced the Protect LNG Act. The messaging contradiction is bilateral, and it is worth stating the pledge precisely rather than at its most damning: Chevron's inspected net-zero-by-2050 aspiration covers upstream Scope 1 and 2 emissions and is conditioned on technology, policy, offset availability and permitting. It does not cover emissions from customers burning the products. Even read narrowly, the company gave $7M to super PACs whose allied lawmakers blocked every major federal climate bill since 2009; API champions a 'lower-carbon future' while spending $6M on the same PACs. The hypocrisy is not just industry vs. stated climate positions: it's the gap between what elected recipients say about energy and what their LCV voting records show.
Receipts
- Yale Climate Connections: Fossil fuel industry spent $219M to elect the new U.S. government
- Texas Tribune: Oil and gas donations to GOP allies are booming: Pfluger $573,721, Cruz $445,232
- Sludge: Fossil Fuel Donors Give Record Amount to Congressional GOP Super PACs: $54.2M in 2023-24
- Brennan Center for Justice: Fossil Fuel Industry Donors See Major Returns in Trump's Policies: 145+ rule reversals, $18B in incentives
- League of Conservation Voters: Ted Cruz LCV Scorecard: 3% lifetime
- League of Conservation Voters: August Pfluger LCV Scorecard: 0% lifetime