Oil Executives Fuel Trump’s $40 Million Texas Fundraising Haul

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(Bloomberg) — Donald Trump raised $40 million from oil executives and other big-money donors in Texas, marking one of the most profitable days Wednesday for the presumptive Republican nominee seeking to close a fundraising gap with President Joe Biden.

The one-day cash increase from events in Houston and Dallas, described by people familiar with the events, comes as Trump appeals directly to the oil industry to support his presidential bid with promises to roll back environmental regulations, which are subject to congressional scrutiny.

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Trump first met with donors at Houston's luxury Post Oak Hotel — a 700,000-square-foot mixed-use site owned by billionaire Houston businessman Tilman Fertitta that houses a Rolls Royce dealership and is topped with a helipad. Hotel guests have the option to purchase a Rolls Royce and have it shipped to their room. Trump later attended a dinner in Dallas.

Trump pledged to attendees in Houston — many of whom wore luxury fashion brands and cowboy boots — to “drill, baby, drill” and open up more areas for energy development. Harold Hamm was president of Continental Resources Inc. and CEO of Occidental Petroleum Corp. Vicki Holub is among those in attendance.

The oil and gas industry has increasingly pumped in support of Trump's bid. It's a relationship that has come under scrutiny from Democrats in Congress, as two US Senate committees on Thursday opened an investigation into whether Trump solicited campaign donations from oil companies and their executives in exchange for policy decisions.

The investigation is linked to Trump's requests for $1 billion in donations during an April meeting with oil and gas executives at his Mar-a-Lago resort, what people familiar with the exchange described.

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Trump's fundraising day in Texas approached the more than $50 million raised last month at a Palm Beach event hosted by billionaire John Paulson. The former president has ramped up fundraising efforts since becoming the presumptive Republican nominee in March.

Of the $40 million raised, $15 million is earmarked for the Trump campaign, the Republican National Committee and state parties, according to a person familiar with the matter. The rest is super PAC money, which can be used to support Trump, but the PAC organizers cannot coordinate directly with the campaign.

Biden, with $192 million in the bank, has almost twice as much money as Trump. However, in April, Trump criticized Biden for the first time, suggesting that the former president may be able to narrow that gap.

Read more: Trump leads Biden in monthly fundraising for the first time

Political allies

During his lunch speech Wednesday in Houston in front of nearly 150 donors, according to people who attended the event, Trump highlighted Biden's verbal and physical stumbles, criticized the number of illegal immigrants crossing the southern border and, in front of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, argued The state's legal battles against the administration.

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Trump, who said he would consider appointing Paxton as attorney general in a potential second administration, praised the Texas Republican for taking legal action after being impeached last year by his state's House of Representatives before the Senate acquitted him. One person in the room said Trump called Paxton a “great Texan.”

Taken together, Trump's remarks at the luncheon were “about winning in November,” said Mayes Middleton, a Republican senator from Texas.

With some of the biggest heads of oil and gas companies in front of him, Trump only briefly touched on energy issues during his lunchtime speech, people in the room said. One billionaire oilman said he left early because there were no specific political details.

Energy discussions

Detailed energy policy talk came later at a smaller roundtable at the Post Oak Hotel with fewer than a dozen donors. Trump was flanked by North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, a potential vice presidential nominee, who addressed some of the finer points, one person in the room said.

Dan Eberhart, CEO of Canary Drilling Services, said the group discussed China's dominance in electric vehicle manufacturing and other issues.

Eberhardt said industry officials underscored concerns that the current regulatory approach in Washington amounts to death by the thousands in cuts for oil and gas companies. Trump, in turn, has repeatedly emphasized that he supports what is good for America, and that we need energy to prosper and keep the economy growing, Eberhardt said.

Concerns have also been raised about California's unique legal authority to set more stringent air pollution standards than the federal government, Eberhardt said.

—With assistance from Nancy Cook, Stephanie Lai, Bill Allison, and Ari Nutter.

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