Harold Hamm, the fracking billionaire and Continental Resources founder, has leveraged his influence on Donald Trump to advance a hardline foreign policy agenda that boosted US-Israel ties and downplayed the risks of war with Iran, according to a new investigation.
Hamm's role in Trump's energy and foreign policy
Hamm, whom Trump has called his "original oil guy," co-chairs the Council for a Secure America (CSA), a non-profit that has aggressively pushed for US energy dominance and a tough stance on Iran. The CSA, relaunched by Hamm in 2012, has held at least 300 briefings with lawmakers and their staff in the 30 months following Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, according to its annual reports.
The group also held dozens of high-level discussions with US and Israeli security experts and off-the-record meetings with dignitaries, including Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, both longtime allies of Hamm. Public records show CSA members met with Wright or Burgum on at least four occasions in the past three years, including a private dinner in North Dakota in May 2024 where Hamm, Burgum, Wright, and Wright's wife sat at the head table.
Hardline views on Iran and Israel
Hamm has long warned that Iran poses a threat to Israel and the US. In a 2018 essay for the National Review, he argued that "Iran perpetuates the virulent rhetoric that has fueled" antisemitism and that "Iran must pay for its constant attempts to destabilize the Middle East." He also predicted the US would be "capable of providing enough oil to help stabilize the global market, no matter what happens in countries such as Iran."
The CSA's founding mission statement declared Iran a "looming existential threat" and argued that "America can be energy dominant, and when that takes place, our national security will be strengthened, freeing ourselves of foreign energy dependence." The group is legally barred from lobbying or campaigning but describes its purpose as educating key audiences on the importance of domestic energy production to US and Israeli national security.
Influence on Trump's war decisions
Trump echoed Hamm's views while justifying the war on Iran launched in February and downplaying its impact on US oil and gasoline prices. Before launching strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, Trump asked advisers about the impact on US energy. Burgum recounted that advisers said, "Nothing. It's not going to change the price of the pump, because the US doesn't get any oil anymore out of the Strait of Hormuz." Trump later declared, "We don't use the strait – the United States, we don't need it."
However, experts say US oil prices have moved largely in line with global ones since the war began because US oil is sold on the global market. Michael Klare, a Five Colleges professor emeritus, said, "You cannot extricate the US from the global petroleum economy. If there's a severing of oil to the rest of the world, even if the US still has plenty, it has consequences that blow back on to the US with higher prices."
Economic impact and criticism
The war has already had a significant economic impact. Americans have paid an additional $67bn for fuel because of it, Brown University researchers estimate, while US oil companies have reported windfall profits. Hamm, whose net worth is estimated at $20bn, expressed indifference toward Americans paying more at the pump, saying in May, "I really don't feel bad. These folks are driving down the road with the $80,000 F-150 and we're at about $4 gas. It's all relative."
Tyson Slocum, energy director at Public Citizen, said, "Harold Hamm very publicly emerged as the oil whisperer in Trump's ear on all things energy policy. He speaks a language Trump understands and shares his general worldview. That has helped move Trump to places and positions that – if Hamm wasn't here – Trump wouldn't have ended up in."
Aaron Weiss of the Center for Western Priorities added, "'Energy dominance' never actually meant cheaper prices for American consumers – it meant giving Harold Hamm more oil to export to foreign countries. And the Iran war has finally laid that lie bare."
The White House declined to comment on whether Hamm spoke directly with Trump about Iran but said Trump was the final decision-maker and has been consistent that Iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon. CSA's executive director, Jennifer Sutton, said in a statement, "CSA does not lobby for or against military actions. Its mission is to educate on the strategic importance of US energy security."
