Drill, Baby, Donate
Oil and gas giants pumped $219M into the 2024 election — then collected policy returns worth billions.
~$19.8M in tracked spending across 5 disclosed flows.
The money, at a glance
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 CEO Kelcy Warren's personal net worth grew nearly 10% after the administration greenlit his stalled pipeline projects.
The funders
Energy Transfer LP / Kelcy Warren
Pro-fossil-fuelfossil fuel industry
- • Kelcy Warren (CEO & Chairman, Energy Transfer LP)
Energy Transfer describes itself as 'one of the largest and most diversified midstream energy companies in North America,' emphasizing energy security and jobs from its 90,000-mile pipeline network.
Chevron Corporation
Pro-fossil-fuelfossil fuel industry
Chevron's sustainability reports tout a 'lower carbon future' strategy and net-zero ambition by 2050 for certain operations, while the company directed $7M to Republican congressional super PACs in 2024.
American Petroleum Institute (API)
Fossil fuel lobbyfossil fuel industry · FEC C00483677
- • ExxonMobil
- • Chevron
- • ConocoPhillips
- • Shell
- • BP and ~600 member companies
API states it supports 'a lower-carbon future' and 'responsible energy development' while directing $6M to Republican super PACs in 2024 and maintaining a direct PAC (C00483677) that gave $326,000 to federal candidates, overwhelmingly Republican.
Oil & Gas Industry (OpenSecrets sector aggregate)
Industry aggregatefossil fuel industry
- • 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.
Where the money went
Federal / National
Kelcy Warren personally gave $814,600 to Trump's 2024 campaign and $5M to MAGA Inc. Within months, Trump reversed Biden's LNG export pause — clearing Energy Transfer's stalled pipeline projects — and Warren's net worth grew nearly 10%. [source]
Federal / National
Chevron gave $7M split evenly between the two largest Republican congressional super PACs, which ran ads supporting candidates with near-zero LCV scores who opposed Inflation Reduction Act clean energy investments. [source]
Federal / National
API — whose members include ExxonMobil, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips — gave $6M to the same two Republican super PACs. The combined fossil fuel total to CLF and SLF reached $54.2M over the cycle. [source]
TX-11
Pfluger, who chairs the House Energy & Mineral Resources Subcommittee, was the top oil-and-gas recipient of any federal candidate in 2024 — with a 0% lifetime LCV score. He sponsored bills to repeal the EPA methane fee and expand LNG exports. [source]
Texas
Cruz received at least $445,232 from oil and gas by mid-cycle and holds a 3% lifetime LCV score. He voted against the Inflation Reduction Act, introduced the Protect LNG Act, and co-sponsored methane-fee repeal — all benefiting his largest industry donors. [source]
What the money is saying
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 reports tout 'net-zero by 2050.' 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]
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]
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]
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: Chevron publicly commits to 'net-zero by 2050' while giving $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 · 2025-01-01
- Texas Tribune: Oil and gas donations to GOP allies are booming — Pfluger $573,721, Cruz $445,232 · 2024-05-07
- Sludge: Fossil Fuel Donors Give Record Amount to Congressional GOP Super PACs — $54.2M in 2023-24 · 2024-10-17
- 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