3 Unstoppable Energy Stocks on Washington's Short List as Trump Rewrites U.S. Oil and Gas Strategy

Washington is rewriting the U.S. oil and gas strategy under President Donald Trump's leadership, making sweeping moves to slash permit timelines, lift moratoriums, revive drilling, reopen acreage, and fast-track liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals and exports.

Not all companies stand to benefit, though, and only a few stocks are directly aligned with Washington's energy agenda. Here are three of them worth considering.

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Dominating the oil upstream

Trump's revived "drill, baby, drill" agenda is an aggressive push to expand domestic oil and gas production. ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) sits at the very center of the policy shift toward fossil fuels and is arguably more leveraged than any peer to Washington's pro-oil strategy.

Why? ExxonMobil is the largest oil and gas producer in the U.S. It more than doubled its Permian Basin production after acquiring Pioneer Natural Resources for $60 billion in 2024. That's more than 1.4 million net acres of drilling inventory, with an estimated 16 billion barrels of oil equivalent resource.

ExxonMobil is prioritizing high-return investments and financial flexibility. By 2030, it projects $25 billion in incremental earnings and $145 billion in surplus cash (above current base dividend and capital expenditure) at an average Brent crude oil price of $65 per barrel.

That's a lot of money, and even if ExxonMobil hits half that goal, investors stand to win. In just the last five years, ExxonMobil has returned nearly $150 billion to its shareholders. It has increased dividends for 43 consecutive years and consistently repurchases shares.

Buying ExxonMobil isn't just a gamble on oil prices anymore. It is a bet on sustained U.S. energy dominance and favorable Washington policies.

The undisputed LNG king

When President Trump signed the "Unleashing American Energy" executive order in early 2025, it ended the Biden-era pause on LNG export approvals. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said it plainly when he personally signed a 12% export expansion authorization for Cheniere Energy's (NYSE: LNG) Corpus Christi LNG terminal: "This order helps further strengthen America's LNG export capacity, delivering peace abroad and prosperity for Americans at home."

For energy investors, Cheniere is a straightforward policy bet. As the largest LNG producer and exporter in the U.S., running massive export hubs at Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi, the company is perfectly positioned to ride Washington's pro-LNG wave.

Growth is already locked in, with the Corpus Christi expansion adding nearly 15 million tons per annum (MTPA) of new LNG capacity, while an additional 20 MTPA is in the works at Sabine Pass. That's all the incremental revenue coming in on top of an already massive base.

Thanks to these expansions, Cheniere recently raised its 2026 outlook, guiding for a massive $4.75 billion to $5.25 billion in distributable cash flow (DCF). That means its stock buyback and dividend growth story has years of room to run. As Washington rewrites the U.S. energy playbook with LNG at the center, Cheneire will lead the charge.

The gas beast with an unstoppable backlog

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) updated Clean Air Act has significantly loosened greenhouse gas emissions standards for fossil-fuel-fired power plants, including nitrogen oxide emission limits for new gas-burning turbines. In doing so, Washington has effectively given utilities a green light to build gas-fired plants without the threat of forced closures to meet demand from the booming artificial intelligence (AI) data center build-out.

It's a win-win for GE Vernova (NYSE: GEV), the world's largest manufacturer of natural gas turbines. GE Vernova's HA-class gas turbine, which powers utility-scale power plants, is the world's fastest-growing fleet in its class, with 128 units operating in 21 countries.

GE Vernova's numbers reveal the massive growth ahead of the company. Its gas turbine reservations and order backlog skyrocketed to a massive 100 gigawatts (GW) in the first quarter, up from 83 GW in the prior quarter. The company now expects gas power backlog to cross 110 GW by the end of 2026. Its total equipment and services backlog surged to a whopping $163 billion, with orders jumping 71% year over year in Q1.

Here's the most astounding number: GE Vernova is already booking 2030 production slots, meaning its factory schedule is completely sold out for the next few years. That gives the company immense pricing power and revenue visibility amid Washington's oil and gas policy shift.

Neha Chamaria has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Cheniere Energy and GE Vernova. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.