Trump Wants More Gas And Diesel Made At Home, And He’s Paying $150 Million To Make It Happen

The Trump administration is putting up federal money to restart an idled American refinery and expand others as fuel costs squeeze families.

The Energy Department announced Thursday it will spend as much as $150 million under the Defense Production Act to boost oil output, storage and fuel shipping at U.S. refineries, according to a department release. President Donald Trump signed a determination the same day declaring U.S. oil production, refining and fuel logistics vital to national defense.

“These Defense Production Act funds will be used strategically and in partnership with private industry to rapidly bolster America’s existing energy infrastructure,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in the release.

“The whole world has seen this year that refineries are national security and economic assets, and U.S. refineries are the strongest example,” a spokesperson for the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “We appreciate the Trump administration’s continued acknowledgement of the importance of America’s fuel refineries.”

“The Defense Production Act is helpful in signaling to the energy industry and financial markets that energy supply is a strategic national priority, thereby supporting market forces in bringing additional capital to bear,” Matt McManus, a senior fellow at the National Center for Energy Analytics, said in a statement to the DCNF.

The Energy Department said it had nothing further to add beyond its release. Phillips 66 declined to comment, and Valero, Delek US Holdings and LyondellBasell did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s requests for comment.

Diesel averaged $6.32 a gallon nationally Friday, up from $3.63 a year earlier, according to the American Automobile Association.

The department has not said which refineries will receive the money and said in the release that it will announce its selections soon.

Vice President JD Vance has said the administration plans to use the law to expand a Delek US Holdings refinery in Texas, according to Reuters.

America First Refining, which is developing a new refinery, did not say whether it would seek the money.

“While we do not comment on our financing plans, America First Refining remains focused on advancing the first new major U.S. refinery in more than 50 years, with the facility targeted to be operational in 2029,” John Calce, the company’s chairman and founder, told the DCNF in a statement.

The determination, directed to the secretary of war, says U.S. industry “cannot reasonably be expected to provide these capabilities … in a timely manner due to constrained financing, long lead times, permitting and infrastructure bottlenecks, and supply chain limitations,” according to the White House.

Congress set aside $1 billion through the Working Families Tax Cuts law for energy projects considered vital to national security, the Energy Department said.

“Given the constraints on refineries in the Persian Gulf, the market needs additional supply and while this is not an immediate fix, it will be helpful in supplying growing needs over the medium-term,” McManus said. Mark Mills, the center’s founder and executive director, said he endorsed McManus’ comments.

“$150 million is not much money to spend in an industry that requires many hundreds of millions and into the billions to make major changes,” Neil Atkinson, another senior fellow at the center, said in a statement to the DCNF. “There is almost no idle capacity in the U.S.”

Atkinson said U.S. refineries were running at about 94 percent of their capacity, citing the latest weekly figures from the Energy Information Administration, and that global supply and demand drive U.S. prices.

“Our country’s 128 operating refineries produce more fuel in the United States than we consume,” the AFPM spokesperson said. “They are running all-out to keep Americans supplied and the global economy moving despite major disruptions and actual fuel shortages in other parts of the world.”

The trade group said it is “not privy to specific refinery capacity projects or debottlenecking efforts that haven’t been publicly announced.”

“The priority in our country should be keeping U.S. refineries strong and creating a stable environment for investments; keeping fuel moving; and removing unnecessary costs and regulatory barriers to provide consumers relief,” the spokesperson added.

“We are reviewing the administration’s action to better understand its scope and potential implications,” an American Petroleum Institute spokesperson said in a statement to the DCNF. “America’s energy security depends on a strong domestic energy system and policies that allow us to produce, refine and move energy where it’s needed.”

Valero finished idling all processing units at its refinery in Benicia, California, in April, according to the company’s website. The California Energy Commission declined to comment, and Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office did not immediately provide a comment on the record.

Trump signed an earlier determination covering the same capacity in April, addressed to the energy secretary, according to the White House.

The U.S. produced about 13.6 million barrels of crude a day on average in 2025, more than any other country, Reuters reported.

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