Somewhere over the Atlantic aboard Air Force One Sunday night, President Donald Trump made a confession that would send shockwaves through Washington and beyond.
While defending his unilateral military operation against Venezuela, he casually revealed that he had informed oil company executives about the planned attack in advance—a detail that somehow escaped mention when briefing the leaders of Congress, including members of the so-called “Gang of Eight” who are traditionally informed of major covert operations.
The admission caught political observers off guard. Trump hadn’t just bypassed the constitutional requirement to consult Congress before military action. He had apparently prioritized briefing corporate interests over the branch of government specifically designed to check presidential power in matters of war and peace.
The Trump administration is certain to face questions from Congress, which was not informed of the Venezuela operation in advance. https://t.co/VyObRIATTp pic.twitter.com/T2S4H39M1i
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 5, 2026
“He did not inform Congress but he’s saying he informed the oil companies,” Democratic congressional candidate Fred Wellman posted to his 356,000 followers on X, struggling to articulate his disbelief. “Keep in mind who he means. The billionaire mega donor that just got control of Citgo. Our service members were used directly to move the interests of Trump’s donors.”
The accusation cuts to the heart of what critics see as the true motivation behind the Venezuela operation: not democracy promotion or counterterrorism, but corporate profit. Trump has made no secret of his intention for the United States to benefit economically from unfettered access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves—the largest proven oil reserves on the planet, according to energy experts.
In the days following the military operation, stock values for American oil companies have already surged as investors anticipate lucrative opportunities in the newly conquered territory.
Trump claims he doesn’t have to notify Congress before starting a war with Venezuela. That’s false. Under the War Powers Act, the 60-day clock starts once hostilities begin, which already happened when U.S. forces started attacking boats.pic.twitter.com/t6GMixxuBb
— WarMonitor (@TheWarMonitor) December 19, 2025
Rep. Yassamin Ansari of Arizona characterized the revelation as evidence that Trump’s administration had crossed a dangerous line. “The oil companies were informed about an act of war before it happened, Congress was not,” she wrote on social media. “That, my friends, is what an authoritarian regime run by oligarchs looks like.”
The comparison to authoritarian governance isn’t hyperbolic given the precedent being set. In healthy democracies, elected representatives—not corporate executives—are consulted before military operations. The fact that Trump apparently inverted this order suggests a fundamentally different power structure from that envisioned by the Constitution.
Oil companies have a financial interest in the outcome. Congress, in theory, represents the American people.
Chevron, the Texas-based oil giant that currently maintains the only American presence in Venezuela, has already signaled its enthusiasm for the new arrangement.
The company has publicly vowed to work with the Trump administration in what they’re diplomatically calling a “peaceful transfer of power,” though the actual circumstances involved military strikes and forced capture. It is positioning itself to reap enormous financial rewards from the operation.
#ImpeachTrumpNow
Progressive Democrats call for Trump’s impeachment over Venezuela strikes | Fox News https://t.co/PMRNG3YOZ3
— sweetd62 (@sweetd19624) January 5, 2026
This raises an uncomfortable question: Did Trump conduct a military operation that killed unknown numbers of people, violated international law by seizing a foreign leader, and fundamentally altered geopolitics primarily to enrich his corporate allies? The timeline indeed suggests it’s possible. Oil executives knew. They could prepare. They could position their companies to capitalize.
Meanwhile, American service members followed orders they didn’t fully understand, deployed to fight a war that Congress never authorized, for reasons that had nothing to do with national security and everything to do with corporate profits.
Trump’s casual admission about informing oil companies before Congress wasn’t a slip of the tongue. It was an inadvertent revelation of where his priorities actually lie. Not with constitutional governance. Not with democratic accountability. But with the interests of the billionaires and mega-donors who bankroll his political machine.
The stock market surge that followed the Venezuela operation tells you everything you need to know about who really benefits from Trump’s foreign policy.
