(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump has called for the Department of Justice to “immediately start looking into” oil companies as he accused them of price gouging and not lowering the “price at the pump” fast enough in a message on social media.
“The big Oil Companies are not dropping their price at the pump commensurate with the sharply lower prices they are paying for Oil,” Trump said in a post 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,” Trump continued. “Gasoline prices better start going down a lot faster than what I’m seeing!”
A DOJ spokesperson responded to Trump’s post, telling ABC News that “The price of fuel is not only a national security issue, it impacts the wallet of every American. We will always commit to ensuring affordability in this nation.”
Trump’s call for the investigation comes amid reports of ships beginning to move oil and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) through the Strait of Hormuz.
Oil prices have continued to lower recently as peace talks between the United States and Iran have been taking place. U.S. oil is trading at $70.13 a barrel — down 4.18% — and global oil is trading at $73.74 — down 4.28%. Oil is now close to where it was before the war began — U.S. oil ended at $67 a barrel the Friday before the war started.
The Treasury’s move allowing more Iranian oil onto the market until Aug. 21 and reports there was more traffic in the Strait of Hormuz are helping push oil prices lower.
The average price of a gallon of regular gas is $3.90, down 9 cents from last week’s average, according to GasBuddy.
Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said Sunday that oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is “already back to normal” after the U.S. and Iran signed a preliminary agreement to reopen the critical waterway while negotiators spend the next two months trying to work out yet-to-be-resolved nuclear issues.
“I’m long out of the business of predicting oil or gasoline prices, but they will continue to head down. Flows of oil and natural gas through the straits have already returned to normal, and they will continue that way whatever happens with the negotiations with the Iranians,” Wright said on ABC News’ “This Week.” “We’ve got growing American production, surging production in Venezuela. We’ve got cooperation with all the other energy producers of the world. So, I think Americans can expect continued declines in energy prices.”
U.S. and Iranian leaders signed a memorandum of understanding last week that appears to have broken the monthslong stalemate in the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway in the Gulf region through which around 20% of the global oil supply normally transits to enter the market.
Energy prices spiked in May, with U.S. gas prices averaging $4.56 per gallon over the month, according to Gas Buddy.
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