Bernie Sanders Faces Scrutiny As RFK Jr. Highlights Big Pharma Donations

Tensions flared in the Senate as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, confronted Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) over financial contributions from the pharmaceutical industry. During Kennedy’s confirmation hearing, he pointed to the influence of corporate donations in Washington, singling out Sanders for receiving large sums from the sector.

Kennedy challenged the senator while responding to questions at the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. “By the way, Bernie, you know the problem of corruption is not just in the federal agencies, it’s in Congress, too,” he stated. “Almost all the members of this panel, including yourself, are accepting millions of dollars from the pharmaceutical industry and protecting their interests.”

The remarks sparked applause from the audience, while Sanders quickly rejected the accusation, insisting that none of his campaign funds had come from corporate sources. “Oh no, no, no! No, no, no,” Sanders said. “I ran for president like you. I got millions and millions of contributions. They did not come from the executives. Not one nickel of PAC money from the pharmaceutical industry. They came from workers.”

Financial records from OpenSecrets, a nonprofit tracking political donations, indicate that Sanders received more than $1.4 million from individuals associated with pharmaceutical and health product companies in the 2019-20 election cycle. In the 2015-16 cycle, he ranked second among senators in donations from the sector, taking in $439,256.

Kennedy pressed Sanders on these figures, questioning whether they aligned with his long-standing criticism of the pharmaceutical industry. Sanders responded by emphasizing that his campaign was supported by industry workers rather than executives or corporate political action committees. “Because I had more contributions from workers all over this country,” he stated. “Workers, not a nickel from corporate PACs… from workers in the industry.”

The exchange was one of several contentious moments between the two. A day earlier, Sanders had questioned Kennedy about Children’s Health Defense, the organization he founded. Holding up baby onesies sold by the group with messages against vaccine mandates, Sanders demanded to know whether Kennedy stood by the products. Kennedy responded that he had stepped down from the group and no longer had control over its decisions.

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