House Democrats launch probe into Trump officials and oil companies [View all]
Source: MS NOW
Jan. 9, 2026, 4:45 PM EST
House Democrats on Friday launched a probe into possible conflicts of interest following the U.S. military incursion into Venezuela last weekend, seeking to learn whether Trump administration officials or oil companies have or will benefit from the situation.
Democratic members of the House Oversight Committee, led by ranking member Robert Garcia, D-Calif., on Friday sent letters to the chief executives of four major oil companies — Chevron, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and Continental Resources — ahead of a meeting with oil executives at the White House that afternoon.
Democrats requested the businesspeople provide information to help lawmakers determine “who stands to privately or personally benefit from President Trump’s actions and whether corrupt motives were a driving force in U.S. foreign policy decision.”
The letter comes amid mounting criticism and confusion on Capitol Hill — including from some Republicans — about how exactly Trump plans to rebuild Venezuela’s oil infrastructure and what companies will be investing in the effort. Trump has said the U.S. likely would be running Venezuela and extracting its oil for years, despite doubts from some executives about the feasibility of such a plan.
Read more: https://www.ms.now/news/democrats-oil-companies-trump-investigation-venezuela
Link to House Oversight Democrats PRESS RELEASE - Ranking Member Robert Garcia, All Oversight Democrats, Launch Investigation Into Trump Administration’s Communications with Oil Companies in Takeover of Venezuela
Link to LETTER (inquiry) (PDF) - https://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/imo/media/doc/20260109letter_to_usoilandgasexecutivesrevenezuela.pdf
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