President Donald Trump is meeting with oil industry executives at the White House Tuesday in an effort to bring relief to Americans facing rising gas prices.
The national average for a gallon of gasoline is hovering at $4.10, with markets pushing oil prices higher again Tuesday, driven in part by uncertainty in the Middle East over the possibility of renewed U.S. military action against Iran.
As Scripps News has confirmed through a White House spokesman, the meeting includes industry leaders, refiners and distributors. A key focus will be the cost passed along to drivers, as well as increasing refinery capacity. The thinking is that if refineries can produce more, that could potentially lower the price of gasoline.
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The meeting also comes as the president pursues a new deal with Venezuela, opening what he describes as a major oil market that would rely more heavily on U.S. processing than it ever has. Trump needs the industry to prepare to process Venezuelan crude.
The meeting is notable in part because of comments Trump made in early August, when he was asked about oil company profits reported over the course of last summer.
"You're making too much money, okay? Based on a shortage, they're making too much money. I don't like it. And I should be the last one to say because I'm a big free enterprise guy. Nobody bigger. Chevron. Too much money. Exxon Mobil. Too much. Too much money. When you look at one company where they made 12 times what they made the year before, they ought to give some of that back to the public, and they better cut the retail price," Trump said.
Whether Trump will take a similarly confrontational tone with executives Tuesday remains one of the key questions surrounding the meeting.
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Trump is also facing pressure from political strategists and members of Congress to do more to address gas prices, which consistently rank among voters' top affordability concerns.
