Senate Democrats' Report Says Fossil Fuel Firms Gained Billions After Backing Trump

The fossil fuel industry secured an estimated $190 billion in tax breaks and subsidies over the next decade after responding to Donald Trump's pre-election call for major campaign donations, according to a new report from two Senate Democrats.

The report, released Thursday by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, ranking member of the Senate environment and public works committee, and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, describes what the senators characterize as the fossil fuel industry's expansive influence over the Trump administration. The senators' report states that taxpayers face higher bills as a result of what it describes as a 'bargain' between the president and major polluters.

Senators Allege Costs to Taxpayers

According to the report's authors, the arrangement leaves American taxpayers to shoulder higher costs, including public health costs associated with pollution, while the fossil fuel industry benefits from the tax breaks and subsidies. The report frames the donations as part of a broader pattern of industry influence over policy decisions under the current administration.

The Trump administration and fossil fuel industry representatives have not been quoted in response to the report's specific findings in the available material. The report's release by Whitehouse and Schumer, both prominent Democratic critics of the administration's environmental policy, is likely to fuel ongoing political debate over energy policy and campaign finance.

Further specifics on individual companies or tax provisions named in the report were not detailed in the available summary.