May 12 (Reuters) - U.S> Senate Majority Leader Chuck

Schumer on Sunday urged the Federal Trade Commission to "pump

the breaks" on Chevron Corp's ( CVX ) proposed $53 billion

acquisition of Hess Corp. ( HES )

"The FTC should side with consumers and pump the breaks on

this deal," Schumer said in a post on social media platform X,

adding that the deal would give oil majors more leverage to

raise gas prices.

In October last year, Chevron ( CVX ) agreed to buy Hess for $53

billion in stock to gain a bigger U.S. oil footprint and a stake

in rival Exxon Mobil's ( XOM ) massive Guyana discoveries.

Schumer has previously also called for greater scrutiny of

mega oil mergers as he along with 22 other Democratic senators

wrote to the FTC in November last year, saying multi-billion

dollar acquisitions by oil and gas giants Exxon and Chevron ( CVX )

could lead to higher prices for consumers.

Chevron ( CVX ) and Hess did not immediately respond to a Reuters

request for comment.