By Valerie Volcovici
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate Finance and Budget committees launched an investigation on Thursday into presidential candidate Donald Trump’s offer to roll back a slew of environmental regulations in exchange for $1 billion in campaign contributions.
The announcement comes a week after the top Democratic lawmaker on a U.S. House of Representatives oversight panel sought information from nine oil companies about reports of “quid pro quo proposals” the former president made this spring during a campaign event in his Mar. a Lago resort in Florida. .
“While Mr. Trump funnels campaign money into his companies and uses it as a slush fund to pay his legal fees, Big Oil has lobbied aggressively to protect and expand its profits at the expense of the American taxpayer,” the chairman wrote of the Senate Finance Committee. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island.
Trump had pledged to roll back dozens of Biden administration environmental rules and policies during a meeting with top US oil industry officials, where he also asked them to raise $1 billion for his presidential campaign, according to media reports .
The committee chairs sent letters to the CEOs of several energy companies and an industry trade group, asking them to distribute materials to attendees of the fundraising event where Trump requested the quid pro quo; descriptions of policy proposals discussed at the event, copies of any draft proposals or executive orders, and information about corporate donations to the Trump campaign.
Trump had told executives at that event that he planned to auction more oil drilling leases in the Gulf of Mexico, reverse drilling restrictions in the Alaskan Arctic, lift the pause on LNG exports and talk about his distaste for wind energy, according to media reports. .
(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
