Rinaldi said he met separately with Navarro over the refinery’s closure, and previously, when he was chief executive, he met with Trump to discuss federal ethanol mandates issues. But he has not discussed the refinery’s bankruptcy directly with the president. Rinaldi noted that it is not unusual for the White House to be involved in issues related to refineries and fuel markets -- the Obama White House’s support eight years ago was critical to securing investors for a previous rescue of the Philadelphia refinery .