Trump’s “Drain the Swamp” Promise vs. Reality

One of President Trump’s original taglines was if he were elected, he would “drain the swamp.” 

But new records and media reports show the opposite. His latest actions – the use of military force in Venezuela – wasn’t draining the swamp. It was the swamp winning.  

For years, oil companies like Chevron have lobbied the White House on Venezuelan oil for years. Not only that, two new companies that have the exact refineries needed to process Venezuelan oil started lobbying President Trump within days of him taking office.  

Let’s connect the dots.  

Dot 1: New companies, Phillips 66 and PFB, start spending money on lobbyists telling the Trump White House they are interested in refining Venezuelan oil within days of Trump being back in the White House.  

Dot 2: Trump spends all of 2025 escalating with former Venezuelan leader Nicholas Maduro. Here’s the full timeline if you want to see it.  

Dot 3: Phillips 66 spends the first 9 months of 2025 lobbying President Trump on Venezuela. PBF lobbies January – March, and then magically picks it back up in October. The Department of Defense started attacking boats off the coast of Venezuela in September.  

Dot 4: Trump sends the military to capture Maduro. 

Dot 5: Congressional outcry is muted, likely because of their ties to Big Oil.  A vote to rebuke Trump on his military attack on Venezuela fails. We compiled the members of Congress with most ties to Big Oil, click here to see if your member is on the list. 

Dot 6: The Big Oil swamp wins, as stock prices soar, and Trump parades them at the White House to commit to developing Venezuelan oil.  

To put it simply, Trump isn’t draining the swamp. He’s flooding it with oil.  

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