Three U.S. senators are urging Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to disclose details about several private dinners he attended with Donald Trump and healthcare executives at Mar-a-Lago.
“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,’” Elizabeth Warren, Ron Wyden, and Bernie Sanders wrote in a letter to Kennedy dated March 10.
“Although the reports suggest that you ‘largely stayed quiet as Trump and others talked,’ the dinners may have served as an opportunity for Big Pharma to gain insider access to both you and President Trump,” the senators wrote, referring a Wall Street Journal story.
The letter requested details of the dinners, including dates, locations, attendees, topics discussed, payments, and on any commitments made. They also want to know whether Kennedy — a vocal critic of Big Pharma — has received any financial contributions from the healthcare industry.
Pfizer (PFE-2.42%) CEO Albert Bourla and Eli Lilly (LLY-0.29%) CEO David Ricks were among among the executives who attended the dinners, the WSJ wrote.
Bourla told investors in February that Trump introduced him to Kennedy at one such dinner, where Bourla sought to understand Kennedy’s views. While he acknowledged differences in their perspectives, Bourla said there are areas where they can “collaborate” to address chronic diseases.
Pfizer has since indicated it may shift some of its overseas manufacturing to U.S. plants if needed, as the Trump administration considers imposing tariffs on pharmaceuticals.
Additionally, Eli Lilly announced plans to invest $27 billion in four new U.S. manufacturing sites. However, the company emphasized that those plans depend on tax cuts for the industry being extended.
“The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act legislation passed in 2017 during President Trump’s first term in office has been foundational to Lilly’s domestic manufacturing investments, and it is essential that these policies are extended this year,” Ricks said in the company’s press release.
HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Quartz.
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