Wyden, Sanders, Warren Demand Answers About Big Pharma Influence on RFK Jr. Following “Million-Dollar” Dinners at Mar-a-Lago
Senators: “You owe the American public an explanation for why you took part in PhRMA’s influence-peddling events with President Trump.”
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), today demanded answers from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about his promises to “clean up corruption” and “stop the revolving door between industry and government.”
Despite Kennedy proclaiming himself a Big Pharma critic, the Wall Street Journal has reported that Kennedy attended several dinners with healthcare executives who paid millions of dollars to have an audience with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, raising questions about Big Pharma’s ability to throw its weight around with their checkbooks during this administration.
In a letter to Kennedy following these reports, the senators wrote, “It is unclear why you attended private dinners with Big Pharma executives at President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club following your promises to ‘clean up corruption’ and 'stop the revolving door between industry and government.’”
The pharmaceutical executives who attended Trump’s dinners alongside Kennedy have repeatedly called on the administration to repeal Medicare drug negotiations that have lowered life-saving prescription costs and could save taxpayers as much as $100 billion by 2032. If policies that bring drug prices down are abandoned, Big Pharma stands to win big while Americans who count on affordable prescriptions would lose, the senators wrote.
“The dinners may have served as an opportunity for Big Pharma to gain insider access to both you and President Trump,” continued the lawmakers.
At Kennedy’s swearing-in ceremony last month, he committed to “end the corruption, end the corporate capture” of regulatory agencies like HHS by Big Pharma, additionally promising to remove regulatory panel members with conflicts of interest, and provide “radical transparency.” His presence at these lobbying dinners stands in stark contrast with these commitments, and raises questions about the policies he may pursue at HHS.
“You owe the American public an explanation for why you took part in PhRMA’s influence-peddling events with President Trump, what happened at these meetings, and whether they will affect your commitment to ensuring that Americans receive the relief they deserve from high drug prices,” concluded the lawmakers.
The full letter is here.
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