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REVEALED: Big Oil’s Revolving Door In the MAGA Congress
Nonpartisan watchdog Accountable.US found numerous former oil company lobbyists are being hired to work for the new Republican MAGA Congress, including in top positions on the influential House Natural Resources Committee. “
It’s no surprise that Big Oil is infiltrating the halls of Congress after spending millions to elect some of the most extreme legislators in American history. These lobbyists are not getting hired to advocate for American energy consumers – they will push an agenda that benefits the new majority’s donors no matter what it costs taxpayers.”
Jordan Schreiber, Director of Energy and Environment at Accountable.US
Below are some highlights of Accountable.US’s research, which can be reviewed in its entirety at this link.
Rep. Bruce Westerman’s new Chief of Staff Nancy Peele is an oil lobbyist. Peele’s notable clients include:
- In 2015, Peele lobbied Congress on behalf of Taylor Energy Co. LLC, an oil company liable for causing the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the “longest running oil spill in U.S. history.”
- From 2010 through 2014, Peele represented Hercules Offshore Inc, a gas company that caused a “massive blowout” and two day fire in the Gulf of Mexico.
- From 2012 to 2015, Peele lobbied on behalf of Hornbeck Offshore Services to ensure that they continued to profit off the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Peele lobbied on behalf of Freeport-McMoRan Energy LLC, an oil and mining company that paid up to $100 million to settle accusations that it polluted and destroyed parts of Louisiana’s coastline.
Majority Leader Steve Scalise’s Chief of Staff Megan Bel Miller came to Scalise’s office straight out of working as an oil and gas lobbyist. Before becoming Scalise’s Chief of Staff in 2017, Bel Miller lobbied Congress on behalf of National Oceans Industry Association (NOIA), a group representing the offshore oil and gas industry. Bel Miller advocated for polluting industry interests on numerous conservation issues, including the Endangered Species Act, National Environmental Policy Act, and offshore leasing. Majority Whip Tom Emmer’s new Policy Director Ian Foley is an energy and mining lobbyist. In 2022, Foley lobbied Congress on behalf of the uranium mining industry and public utilities with oil and gas portfolios.
Accountable.US is a nonpartisan watchdog that exposes corruption in public life and holds government officials and corporate special interests accountable by bringing their influence and misconduct to light. In doing so, we make way for policies that advance the interests of all Americans, not just the rich and powerful.
LATEST NEWS
Iranian Official Says Trump Rejected Peace Proposal That Was 'Reasonable and Generous'
"The only thing we have demanded is Iran's legitimate rights," said Esmail Baghaei, the spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry.
May 11, 2026
A top Iranian official on Monday said the peace proposal rejected by President Donald Trump was a "reasonable and generous" path toward ending the war that the US and Israel launched in late February, plunging the Middle East and global energy markets into chaos.
Esmail Baghaei, the spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry, said during a press conference that "the only thing we have demanded is Iran's legitimate rights," accusing the US side of insisting on "unreasonable demands."
Baghaei's remarks came after Trump dismissed the Iranian proposal—a counter to the latest US offer—as "totally unacceptable" in a social media post.
"I don't like it," Trump wrote, without specifying what he found objectionable. The president's reply sent oil prices surging.
"Is our proposal for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz unreasonable?" Baghaei asked in response to the US president. "Is establishing peace and security across the entire region irresponsible?"
The details of the US offer and Iran's counter have not been fully made public, though some of both sides' demands have been divulged in media reports and vaguely outlined by government officials. Trump, who has repeatedly issued genocidal threats against Iran and called the country's leaders "lunatics," told Axios that he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about Iran's response.
"It was a very nice call," said Trump. "We have a good relationship."
Baghaei, for his part, rejected the notion that Iran is the party behaving irrationally. "It is enough to look at Iran's record," he said. "Were we the ones who deployed troops? Are we the ones bullying countries in the Western Hemisphere? Were we the ones who committed assassinations twice during negotiations?"
Citing an "informed source," Iran's semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported Monday that "Iran's text emphasizes the necessity of an immediate end to the war and guarantees against renewed aggression toward Iran, along with several other issues within the framework of a political understanding."
"Iran’s text also stresses the necessity of lifting US sanctions and ending the war on all fronts, as well as Iranian management of the Strait of Hormuz should certain commitments be fulfilled by the United States," Tasnim added. "The necessity of ending the naval blockade against Iran immediately after the signing of the initial understanding is also among Iran’s emphasized demands, the source said."
Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, wrote late Sunday that it appears Iran is offering to compromise significantly on its uranium stockpile and future enrichment.
"The US demands that the entire Iranian stockpile be shipped out of the country. In the past, Tehran rejected shipping any of it out; it only agreed to downblending it. In its latest proposal, however, it offers to have some of it diluted and the rest shipped to a third country," Parsi wrote. "As I understand it... Iran is also offering to accept an arrangement in which it will not need to enrich uranium at all for 12 years. This is not the 15-20 years Trump originally wanted, but longer than the 3-5 years Terhan originally offered."
"That Iran is willing to pause enrichment at all is a significant concession that I am not sure is fully appreciated by the American side," he continued. "It remains unclear to me why this and the stockpile have become so central in Trump’s perspective. His earlier red line was simply no nuclear weapons... The insistence on shipping the entire stockpile out appears to be another example of Trump allowing America’s red lines to be replaced by Israel’s. It would be a shame if the entire negotiation collapses over this issue."
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What Progressives Want for Mother's Day: Affordability and Family Reunification
"To really honor Mother's Day, we must fight for our government to pass policies that actually help mothers and families," Sen. Elizabeth Warren said.
May 10, 2026
Progressive leaders and organizations celebrated US Mother's Day on Sunday with calls for policy changes that would make life easier for families.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) pointed out that issues of affordability make mothering—and celebrating mothers—more difficult.
"Despite the average family paying 20% of their income on childcare in 2025, [President Donald] Trump has said, 'It's not possible for us to take care of daycare,'" Warren posted on social media, referring to remarks the president made last month in which he claimed that the federal government could not afford to fund childcare, Medicare, and Medicaid because it needed the money for warfare.
"To really honor Mother's Day, we must fight for our government to pass policies that actually help mothers and families," Warren continued.
"If this country truly valued mothers, our politics would reflect it."
In a separate post, the Massachusetts senator listed several items, from cakes to coffee to flowers, that had gone up in price during the second Trump administration.
"Here's everything that's more expensive this Mother's Day under Donald Trump," she wrote.
Here's everything that's more expensive this Mother's Day under Donald Trump:
Fresh cakes and cupcakes: up 5.2%
Fresh sweetrolls, coffeecakes, doughnuts: up 3.6%
Bananas: up 5%
Citrus fruits: up 2.7%
Coffee: up 18.7%
Candy and chewing gum: up 10.6%
Indoor plants and flowers: up…
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) May 10, 2026
Progressive political action group Our Revolution also called for a more robust social safety net for Mother's Day.
"If this country truly valued mothers, our politics would reflect it," the group wrote. "Universal childcare. Medicare for All. Paid family leave. A living wage. Affordable housing. Strong public schools. A four-day work week. Reproductive freedom."
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) who founded Our Revolution, wished a happy Mother's Day to his wife Jane and all other mothers, calling for both national and global stability.
"Let us continue our push for a world where all mothers can raise their families without the threat of war, with economic stability, and where their rights are protected," he wrote.
Other lawmakers focused on mothers who are separated from their children due to immigration detention under the second Trump administration, which resumed the practice of family detention after it had largely been abandoned under President Joe Biden.
Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) spent Saturday preparing donations for Immigration and Custom Enforcement's (ICE) Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Decatur Township, Pennsylvania.
"This Mother’s Day I’m thinking of the moms and mother figures unjustly detained at Moshannon who would rather be at home with their babies," she wrote on social media.
This Mother’s Day I’m thinking of the moms and mother figures unjustly detained at Moshannon who would rather be at home with their babies.
Yesterday we packed and sent off buses with donations for them. It’s the least we can do. pic.twitter.com/EocSX6kzrY
— Rep. Summer Lee (@RepSummerLee) May 10, 2026
Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) encouraged followers to donate to Each Step Home, which works to reunite immigrant families and support and release children in immigration detention.
"This Mother's Day, I'm thinking of Trump & ICE's cruel treatment of mothers & traumatization of children. No mother, no child, & no family should be detained—but that's exactly what's happening in Dilley, TX," she wrote, referring to a family detention center reopened by the second Trump administration and run by private prison company CoreCivic.
This Mother's Day, I'm thinking of Trump & ICE's cruel treatment of mothers & traumatization of children.
No mother, no child, & no family should be detained—but that's exactly what's happening in Dilley, TX. pic.twitter.com/NeyB4gVIJo
— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) May 10, 2026
Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), meanwhile, shared the story of Isidoro González Avilés and Norma Anabel Ramírez Amaya, who were released from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) detention on Friday and reunited Saturday with their son Kevin González, who has terminal cancer.
Kevin, who was born in the US and raised in Mexico, was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer during a visit to the US, as CNN reported. His parents attempted to travel to the US to visit him before he died, despite having previous immigration infractions, and were detained. The family was finally able to reunite in Durango, Mexico.
Isidoro González Avilés y Norma Anabel se reunieron este sábado con su hijo Kevin en Durango, México, luego de ser liberados por el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional el viernes.
Kevin, quien nació en Estados Unidos, pero se crió en México, tiene cáncer de colon en etapa cuatro… pic.twitter.com/K341mAlOFU
— N+ UNIVISION (@nmasunivision) May 10, 2026
"My heart is full seeing the images of Kevin and his family reunited," Ramirez wrote. "Our community made this moment possible. As we celebrate Mother's Day, let’s remember all the mothers still separated from their loved ones by DHS. For all the families that have not been reunited yet, we continue the fight."
In a separate post, she added, "To all those who are grieving loss, family separation, and the impacts of genocide and war this Mother's Day, we see you. You are not alone."
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72% of Americans Agree: There Is Too Much Money in US Politics
A new poll from Politico found that only 5% of respondents disagree that there is too much money in politics, and 61% think billionaires have too much influence on elections.
May 10, 2026
A significant majority of Americans agree that there is too much money in the US political system and that the super rich have more influence over election outcomes than ordinary citizens, a poll published by Politico on Saturday found.
The poll comes after outside spending in the 2024 election broke records, with richest-man-alive Elon Musk pouring over $250 million into President Donald Trump's campaign.
"In 2024, the maximum individual donation per candidate was $3,300. Elon Musk donated $277 million to elect Trump because of the loopholes Citizens United created for billionaires to buy elections," Campaign for New York Health executive director Melanie D'Arrigo wrote on social media Sunday in response to the results.
"Elon has increased his wealth by $235 billion during Trump’s second term, and was allowed to gut the federal agencies overseeing and investigating him," she continued. "Big money in politics is a direct threat to democracy and the working class."
“This type of astronomical spending corrodes people’s faith in our system of government."
According to the poll, 72% of Americans agree that there is too much money in politics, while only 5% disagree. There is broad partisan consensus on this issue, with 80% of 2024 Kamala Harris voters and 77% of 2024 Trump voters also agreeing.
At the same time, 61% think that billionaires have too much influence on US politics. There was a larger partisan gap on this issue, with 75% of Harris voters and 55% of Trump voters agreeing
A total of 67% of respondents think that there is too much special interest money specifically in elections, and 53% see it as a form of corruption that should be restricted. There is also bipartisan support for the idea that special interest money is corruption, with 61% of Harris voters and 56% of Trump voters backing this position.
There is slightly more concern about money in politics from Democratic voters, with 49% of 2024 Harris voters stating it could outright buy elections compared with 33% of Trump voters.
In response to the results, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) argued that the Democratic Party should do more to take advantage of this concern.
"Dems shy away from the issue, despite voting 100% to get rid of dark money when given the chance. (Republicans 100% defend dark money.)," he wrote on social media.
The Democratic National Committee passed a resolution condemning dark money election spending last month, but some lawmakers including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) have called for it to go further by banning dark money contributions to Democratic primaries all together.
Election spending skyrocketed in the US following the Supreme Court's controversial decision Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission in 2010. Dark money spending increased dramatically, reaching $1.9 billion in 2024.
“This type of astronomical spending corrodes people’s faith in our system of government, and I think people are really looking for changes to take some of this outrageous amount of spending and rein it in,” Michael Beckel, the Money in Politics reform director at Issue One, told Politico.
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