Harold Hamm, who grew up in Oklahoma where his family farmed rented land, built a career in petroleum by advancing fracturing techniques that contributed to reversing declining oil production through the shale boom beginning in 2008. Trump has referred to him as a friend of many years and reportedly used the phrase "original oil guy" in private conversations.
The Continental Resources founder has drawn criticism from environmental organizations and some Democratic legislators for his influence on Trump's energy policy positions, particularly regarding fossil fuel expansion and regulatory changes. Though Hamm played a pivotal role in ending the four-decade prohibition on US crude oil exports in 2015—a financially beneficial policy change for his firm—observers have in recent years primarily focused on his domestic political activities.
The octogenarian played a coordinating role in the 2024 Mar-a-Lago private fundraising event, where reports indicate Trump requested $1 billion from oil executives to support his presidential campaign. Trump's three presidential campaigns have received over $2m in contributions from Hamm, who has also provided an undisclosed sum towards financing the ballroom venture.
However, Hamm's positions on Israel, Iran, and domestic energy markets—which Trump referenced when defending the February military action against Iran and its effects on fuel costs—have received comparatively little scrutiny. Over the years, Hamm has consistently highlighted perceived risks from Iran to both Israel and the United States, advocated for expanded domestic oil production as it relates to Middle Eastern policy, and worked to bolster diplomatic relations between the United States and Israel.
In a 2018 National Review essay co-authored by Hamm, he contended that Tehran's inflammatory language has contributed to antisemitism and that the nation should face consequences for actions perceived as destabilizing the region, while also forecasting that American oil production would be sufficient to maintain global market stability regardless of developments in Iran and that US supply lines would remain secure even if the Strait of Hormuz were blocked.
Hamm's foreign policy efforts have centered on the Council for a Secure America (CSA), a Reagan-era nonprofit he revived in 2012 and continues to co-chair. The organization, headquartered in New York City and comprising petroleum industry leaders, past Israeli government figures, and previous White House personnel including a key proponent of the Iraq intervention, described Iran as a fundamental threat in its founding documents.
CSA's founding document states that achieving energy dominance would enhance the nation's security by reducing reliance on overseas energy sources, though as a registered public charity, the organisation faces legal restrictions on lobbying activities and cannot engage in political campaigning. The organisation has stated that its mission involves informing important audiences about how domestic energy production and related technologies serve the shared national security interests of America and Israel.
The scope of this undertaking is considerable. According to CSA's yearly documentation, the council conducted no fewer than 300 briefings for legislators across party lines and their aides during the 30-month period from Hamas's attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 through the commencement of hostilities involving the US and Israel against Iran. The organisation also conducted numerous consultations with security specialists from the US and Israel, alongside several confidential sessions involving dignitaries from the US and other nations.
Chris Wright, who previously led a fracking company, was appointed to head the Department of Energy. Documents indicate CSA members held private meetings with Doug Burgum during his tenure as North Dakota's governor, prior to his appointment as interior secretary under Trump.
Over the past three years, representatives from the council convened with Wright or Burgum on no fewer than four occasions, one being a May 2024 evening gathering in North Dakota that Burgum arranged. Records indicate that Hamm, Burgum, Wright, and Wright's spouse comprised half the head table attendees at the gathering, where the menu featured walleye cakes, beef, and peach cobbler, with beverages provided by Ron Ness, who heads an oil industry association in North Dakota and partners with CSA. Three additional members of the CSA were present at the event. According to records, the final documented encounter between Wright and CSA took place in May 2025 at Washington DC's Argentinian embassy.
CSA's executive director, Jennifer Sutton, stated through an external communications firm that the organisation does not advocate for or against military actions, and its mission centres on educating about US energy security's strategic value, including its contributions to domestic economic stability, national security, and peaceful geopolitical outcomes through economic prosperity, while the organisation did not address the investigation's details or respond to specific questions about its activities; public-interest advocates tracking Hamm indicate he has influenced Trump's energy policy since the first campaign, with Public Citizen's energy director, Tyson Slocum, telling the Guardian that Hamm became a visible adviser on energy policy matters, communicating in ways Trump finds relatable and sharing similar perspectives.
The observer noted that this influence has guided the president toward policy stances he might not otherwise have adopted, pointing to a recent Environmental Protection Agency determination that withdrew foundational scientific assessments underpinning climate regulations – an action advocated by the Domestic Energy Producers Alliance, an oil industry organization, despite reservations from other energy sector entities concerned about potential implications for ongoing climate-related legal proceedings.
Hamm has visited the Oval Office on at least two documented occasions following the resumption of the Trump administration. That month, Hamm attended a gathering with petroleum sector representatives following the military overthrow of Maduro's administration in Venezuela. During the meeting, Trump referred to Hamm as a highly skilled figure in the energy sector and inquired whether reports were accurate that Hamm possessed the ability to identify drilling locations that would yield oil simply by examining the terrain.
While Hamm has supported Trump's actions regarding Venezuela, the energy executive and CSA have concentrated their attention primarily on Iranian affairs and the broader Middle Eastern region. Following the 2023 Hamas attacks, CSA started publishing periodic reports that documented connections between Iran and groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah, and noted the potential for proxy activity within the United States. In 2024, the organisation initiated polling in states with conservative voting patterns, presenting findings as reflecting views of voters nationwide on military involvement in that area.
Following the June 2025 airstrikes on Iran by Washington and Tel Aviv, the executive director of CSA characterised the situation as a test of resolve by democratic nations responding to actions by non-democratic states.
The organisation describes itself as linking the American oil and gas sector with pro-Israel advocacy groups, and its membership roster features American Petroleum Institute senior vice-president Dustin Meyer, Iraq war policy architect and Republican national security adviser Elliott Abrams, former secretary of state Mike Pompeo under the Trump administration, former Democratic senator Evan Bayh, and Israeli reserve brigadier general Yossi Kuperwasser, who previously directed research for military intelligence.
In 2012, Hamm revived CSA following years of inactivity, the organisation having previously secured protections for federal drilling tax incentives during the 1980s. The organization soon started arranging visits to Israel for petroleum industry leaders to engage with state representatives. In February 2013, the group's itinerary included a visit to the Western Wall, a tour of a military installation, and a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to local news coverage and images that appeared on the CSA site.
The organisation has developed a network of associates and supporters, four of whom now hold positions in the Trump administration, Wright among them. Wright and Hamm have worked together for years, with Hamm describing their appointments as Trump's chief energy advisors as forming an exceptionally strong partnership.
Before the hostilities began, Burgum, Wright, and Hamm had each projected that domestic energy costs would remain stable. During a thinktank address in Washington that autumn, Burgum described how the president had inquired about potential energy consequences before authorising strikes on Iranian nuclear sites earlier that year, with advisers responding that there would be no impact whatsoever. The effect on fuel costs will remain unchanged, as anticipated.
In January, with oil prices approaching their lowest post-pandemic levels, Hamm's company halted drilling operations for new wells in North Dakota. This would mark the first instance since 2000 that Hamm's operations would lack an operating rig in the state that generated his wealth, as he explained that drilling became economically unviable with profit margins effectively eliminated.
Hamm reversed his position shortly after. In May, Continental's increased expenditure was disclosed as a strategic response to elevated energy prices. Hamm noted that the company would not reduce pricing as crude oil traded near $100 per barrel, reflecting a rise exceeding 60% for the year, marking the initial public statement by a US petroleum producer linking output increases to the conflict.
Following the temporary US-Iranian ceasefire last month, petroleum prices dropped to levels seen before hostilities began, though they subsequently increased as military operations resumed on both sides.
The conflict has already produced measurable economic effects domestically, with estimates from Brown University indicating consumers have spent roughly $67 billion more on fuel, while petroleum corporations have recorded unusually high profits during the same period.
Domestic fuel costs track international benchmarks because the country's oil participates in global trade, with energy sector representatives explaining that insulation from worldwide market forces is not feasible, and that international supply disruptions influence local pricing while complicating strategic relationships, though some commentators maintain that removing export limitations served industry interests more than household budgets, a perspective they say current international tensions have highlighted despite government accounts.
Hamm stated that rising fuel costs did not concern him and noted his lack of sympathy for consumers paying higher prices, commenting in May that drivers of expensive pickup trucks should not complain about petrol costing roughly four dollars per gallon, and the billionaire businessman characterised the situation as a matter of perspective.
