MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and 34 other Republican colleagues in calling on Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairwoman Lina Khan to conduct a fair and unbiased review of recently announced oil and gas mergers.

On Nov. 1, 2023, Senate Democrats requested that the FTC investigate major energy acquisitions while citing misleading and false allegations, including that companies are discrediting “climate science” through oil and gas production. In their letter, Republicans explain that conducting an investigation based on Democrats’ unfounded claims would be an FTC overreach, but demand that any such investigation must be unbiased. 

“We write to urge the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to follow the law and the facts in its review of the recently announced oil and gas industry mergers. As is the case with any merger review, including those in the industrial sector, mergers must be assessed under a fair and unbiased standard grounded in sound economics and law that protects American consumers, and does not impose policy preferences to further political ends,” the senators wrote.

“Unfortunately, some of our Democratic colleagues do not want you to apply relevant facts or antitrust precedent fairly to these mergers, as demonstrated through their letter. Their letter makes specious and speculative claims about what these mergers would allegedly portend for ‘climate science’ and ‘climate legislation,’ among other things. . . . Incredibly, the letter also asked the FTC to simply ignore the parties’ plan to produce an additional one billion barrels of oil over the life of the assets beyond what could be achieved if the parties acted separately. In other words, the letter deliberately ignored evidence of what would be a clear benefit to consumers, workers, and our nation’s energy security: greater production,” they continued. 

“We respectfully request that the FTC conduct a fair and unbiased review of these mergers that is rooted in the facts, economic realities, and precedent. The oil and gas industry (like any other industry) should not be subject to unfair investigations or heightened antitrust scrutiny in order to further a political agenda that seeks the end of fossil fuel production,” the senators concluded.  

Full text of the letter is available here.