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President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he had instructed the Justice Department to immediately probe oil companies for not lowering gas prices at the pump in line with falling costs, accusing them of “gouging” consumers.
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Trump did not name any companies in his late-night message on Truth Social, which was posted shortly after midnight.
“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. “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.
In response to the President’s message, the American Petroleum Institute, which represents all of the major U.S. oil and gas companies, said the industry “shares the goal of delivering relief at the pump and restoring stability to global energy markets.”
But, “gasoline prices don’t move in lockstep with crude oil, especially during a major global disruption that is still affecting supply, refining and inventories,” API spokesperson Bethany Williams said.
“Our focus remains on supporting market stability and delivering the energy consumers need,” she added.
The DOJ did not respond to an overnight request for comment.
Trump’s war in Iran and Tehran’s subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz rocked global markets and sent energy prices soaring, resulting in higher gas prices for Americans at the pump.
That has translated into concerns that consumers may punish Republicans in November’s midterm elections.
While prices have eased in recent weeks amid peace talks and news of an interim deal that would include reopening the waterway, through which one-fifth of the global oil supply is moved, traffic through the Strait remains a sliver of what it was before the war.
Gas prices in the United States fell last week below $4 per gallon for the first time since March, bringing some relief to consumers.
U.S. crude closed at $73.21 Tuesday, just $6.19 higher than the day before the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Iran in late February. On Wednesday, prices continued their slow decline but still remain about 25% higher than where they started the year.
The national average gas price meanwhile hovered at $3.92 as of early Wednesday, according to AAA data tracked by NBC News, compared to the $4.52 average a month ago. That’s a drop of nearly 13%.
But that’s still much higher than the national average price a year ago, which stood at $3.22, according to AAA.
Increased gas prices have resulted in higher monthly expenses for Americans — anywhere from less than $20 to more than $300 for a driver who fills up twice a month, according to an NBC News analysis of AAA’s average national gas price data.
Trump sought to reassure voters at a key Pennsylvania swing district Tuesday that costs are coming down and that people are better off than they were two years ago.
Despite the relative reprieve at the pump, there is still uncertainty about whether the interim agreement will hold and traffic will continue to flow through the key trade route as the parties continue to negotiate the final agreement to settle the thorniest issues, such as Iran’s nuclear program.
The U.S. and Iran were in dispute Tuesday over whether Tehran had agreed to allow United Nations inspections of its nuclear sites.
Yuliya Talmazan is a reporter for NBC News Digital, based in London.
Steve Kopack is a senior reporter at NBC News covering business and the economy.
© 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC
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