Members of the public cheered President Donald J. Trump’s nominee for Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as he called out Senator Bernie Sanders for being bankrolled by Big Pharma at a confirmation hearing on Thursday. In a combative performance, RFK Jr. responded to Sanders‘s shilling for vaccine manufacturers and socialized medicine by saying, “By the way, Bernie, you know the problem of corruption is not just in the federal agencies, it’s in Congress, too.”
“Almost all the members of this panel are accepting—including yourself—are accepting millions of dollars from the pharmaceutical industry, and protecting their interests.”
“Oh, no!” Sanders shouted as members of the public at the hearing began to clap and cheer. “No, no, no, no, no, nooooo,” he yelled, waving his hand and jabbing his finger.
According to Open Secrets, Senator Sanders did, in fact, receive the second-largest sum of pharmaceutical and health products industry donations of any Senator in the 2015-16 cycle, at $439,256. He claimed the top spot in the 2019-20 cycle, at $1,417,633, despite a ‘No Health Insurance and Pharma Money Pledge.’
Conveniently, Sanders took in multiple donations from executives at Pfizer, Merck, and Acadia Pharmaceuticals shortly before this pledge was offered.
Public cheers when RFK Jr. points out Bernie Sanders is bankrolled by Big Pharma; Bernie starts yelling at them. pic.twitter.com/2JOqdLMCGf
— Jack Montgomery (@JackBMontgomery) January 30, 2025