By Eshioromeh Sebastian
President Donald Trump has ordered the Department of Justice to investigate major oil companies for allegedly failing to lower gasoline prices in line with falling crude costs, accusing the industry of “gouging” consumers .
In a social media post shortly after midnight Wednesday, Trump expressed frustration that pump prices had not fallen as quickly as oil prices .
“The big Oil Companies are not dropping their price at the pump commensurate with the sharply lower prices they are paying for Oil,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Those prices are dropping like a rock! In other words, customers are being ‘gouged'” .
“I have instructed the DOJ to immediately start looking into this. Gasoline prices better start going down a lot faster than what I’m seeing!”, he added.
The directive comes as global oil prices have dropped sharply following an interim peace agreement between the U.S. and Iran that reopened the Strait of Hormuz.
The waterway, through which roughly one-fifth of global oil supply normally travels, had been effectively shut by Tehran in retaliation for U.S.-Israeli strikes that began the Iran war on Feb. 28.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, reached nearly $120 a barrel in May but has since dropped to around $76 as peace talks progressed . U.S. crude prices have fallen roughly 40% from their March peak.
Gasoline prices have declined for six consecutive weeks, with the national average falling to about $3.90 per gallon, down more than 14% from May’s peak, according to GasBuddy data. Last week, prices dropped below $4 for the first time since March .
However, Trump argued the decline at the pump has been insufficient compared with the drop in crude costs . Pump prices remain significantly higher than the $2.76 per gallon recorded in January, before the conflict began.
The issue comes at a politically sensitive time, with Trump and fellow Republicans defending narrow congressional majorities in November’s midterm elections . Consumer concerns over fuel costs remain high even as prices ease.
Energy analysts have pushed back against the price-gouging accusation. Karen Young, a senior research scholar at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, described Trump’s post as “political theater,” noting gasoline prices do not move in lockstep with crude.
She explained it takes time for crude price drops to filter through refineries to consumers, while state and local taxes also shape what drivers pay.
Bloomberg energy columnist Javier Blas similarly dismissed the move as “all political theatre,” pointing to refining and marketing margins as factors.
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