Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA) is calling out President Trump’s private meeting with executives from the oil and gas industry as a portrait of “what an oligarchy looks like” after Trump ordered the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, largely on the claims that Maduro was an illegitimate leader who had “stolen” American oil.
Jacobs criticized the marginalization of Congress — ostensibly the representatives of the American people — and the prioritization of corporate voices from “Big Oil” — which she implies have been given power by Trump that rightly belongs to Congress.
(Trump has said that ExxonMobil and Chevron, attending the meeting, will invest $100 million in the Venezuelan oil business, though he also indicated that the U.S. may reimburse the oil companies. Trump also said he will control the oil.)
Before the U.S. toppled Maduro in Venezuela, Donald Trump tipped off Big Oil companies, but not Congress. Today, he’s meeting with Big Oil again.
Congress hasn’t authorized any U.S. action – but Big Oil has a seat at the table. This is what an oligarchy looks like.
— Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (@RepSaraJacobs) January 9, 2026
The history of American oil companies and the oil reserves in Venezuela is complicated, but Trump’s claim that the oil is “American” has been refuted even by Republicans, with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) warning:
“It’s not American oil. It’s Venezuelan oil. Oil companies entered into risky deals to develop oil, and the deals were canceled by a prior Venezuelan government. What’s happening: lives of US soldiers are being risked to make those oil companies (not Americans) more profitable.”
Jacobs is one of the wealthiest members of Congress, an heiress to a technology fortune built during the late 20th century period that helped make California’s tech sector the giant force it is today. (The congresswoman’s grandfather, Irwin M. Jacobs, co-founded Qualcomm in 1985; her father Paul E. Jacobs became CEO in 2005.)
Given that Qualcomm “started as a contract research and development center largely for government and defense projects,” Jacobs is presumably not naive on how intertwined U.S. businesses often are with the federal government, especially in the highly regulated energy and technology sectors.
Yet Jacobs claims to see a new level of corporate influence and access that supersedes the role of Congress and undermines democracy in the potentially illegal removal of Maduro and the seizing of Venezuelan assets by the U.S.