The Justice Department is urging state attorneys general to investigate whether oil companies are illegally keeping gasoline prices artificially high, escalating President Donald Trump’s campaign against what he has called price gouging at the pump.
In a joint letter sent Friday, the DOJ’s Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission encouraged state attorneys general to launch investigations under their own antitrust and consumer protection laws into companies suspected of manipulating gasoline prices or colluding with competitors. The three-page letter prominently features Trump’s June 24 Truth Social post accusing major oil companies of failing to pass along declining crude oil prices to consumers.
The agencies warned they are “closely monitoring petroleum markets” and pledged to use both civil and criminal enforcement tools against companies found violating antitrust laws.
“Affordable energy is essential to a thriving American economy,” Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said in a statement.
“The Antitrust Division is committed to working alongside state law enforcement partners to provide resources and support to protect consumers from anticompetitive behavior that raises the price of gas. The Antitrust Division will use all available tools to ensure that companies are held accountable for unlawfully manipulating the market,” Woodward added.
The letter comes nine days after Trump publicly directed the DOJ to investigate whether oil companies were keeping gasoline prices elevated despite a sharp decline in crude 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 on June 24. “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.” That post appears at the top of the agencies’ letter to state attorneys general.
The DOJ and FTC stressed that volatility in oil markets “does not suspend either the antitrust laws or state consumer protection laws” and said businesses may not use changing market conditions “as cover for anticompetitive practices, fraud, or any other lawlessness that harms Americans.” The agencies also encouraged states with price-gouging statutes to determine whether enforcement actions are warranted under those laws.
The letter directs consumers to report suspected antitrust violations through the DOJ’s Citizen Complaint Center and the FTC’s fraud reporting portal. It also highlights the Antitrust Division’s whistleblower rewards program, which pays informants between 15% and 30% of criminal fines collected in qualifying cases. The department noted it awarded its first $1 million whistleblower payment earlier this year to an individual who helped uncover an online used-car price-fixing conspiracy.
National average gas prices currently stand at around $3.82 per gallon, according to AAA Fuel Prices. That’s down roughly 44 cents since last month, when fuel averaged around $4.26. At this time last year, the national average was $3.16.
The administration’s latest move continues an aggressive antitrust enforcement campaign focused on consumer prices.
DOJ SUES EGG PRODUCER OVER ‘MANIPULATED’ PRICES
Earlier this week, the DOJ filed a lawsuit against several of the nation’s largest egg producers, alleging they conspired to manipulate industry price benchmarks and inflate wholesale egg prices through coordinated bidding strategies and private trades. Federal prosecutors alleged the scheme contributed to record egg prices before prices collapsed after the companies learned they were under investigation in 2025.
The lawsuit named Cal-Maine Foods, Hickman’s Egg Ranch, and Versova Holdings, among others, and seeks to bar future anticompetitive conduct while enforcing proposed settlements that require compliance programs and restrict communications with competitors.
