Chevron CFO pushes back on Trump gas price-gouging probe

Chevron CFO Eimear Bonner pushed back on President Donald Trump's accusation that oil companies are "gouging" consumers, telling CNBC on Thursday that gasoline prices will decline but that a delay between falling crude costs and lower pump prices is unavoidable.

"It's going to take time though. There is a lag between, you know, oil prices and reductions in oil prices and when that shows up at the pump, but we expect that prices will come down as things continue to normalize," Bonner said on "Squawk Box Europe."

Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House on Wednesday, named Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Shell, and BP by name and said gasoline prices "should be much lower at the pump," adding that his target was $2.25 per gallon. Shortly after midnight the same day, Trump had posted on Truth Social that the Justice Department should begin looking into oil companies, accusing them of failing to pass along crude price declines to consumers.

Asked whether energy majors could do more to bring prices down quickly, Bonner said Chevron was growing production by 7% to 10% this year and that the industry was doing everything it could. "I think the majors are doing everything that we can," she said.

The American Petroleum Institute, which represents major U.S. oil and gas companies, offered a similar defense. API spokesperson Bethany Williams said "gasoline prices don't move in lockstep with crude oil, especially during a major global disruption that is still affecting supply, refining and inventories."

A DOJ spokesperson said in a statement that "the price of fuel is not only a national security issue, it impacts the wallet of every American."

An interim peace deal between the U.S. and Iran last week has pushed oil prices lower. Thursday trading put Brent crude at $72.75 a barrel — territory last visited before fighting broke out in the Middle East in late February — with West Texas Intermediate changing hands near $69.60.

AAA data cited by NBC News put the national average at $3.92 a gallon early Wednesday, a roughly 13% drop from $4.52 the month prior, though drivers are still paying about 70 cents more per gallon than they were at the same point last year, when the AAA average sat at $3.22. Quartz reported Wednesday that six straight weeks of easing U.S.-Iran tensions had driven pump prices lower, even as crude started the week priced around 25% above its January 2026 baseline.

Exxon Mobil, Shell, and BP had not responded to requests for comment.