Kennedy Exposes Sanders’ Hypocrisy On Big Pharma Donations

A fiery exchange erupted on Capitol Hill when Robert F. Kennedy Jr. confronted Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) over his financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry. During Kennedy’s confirmation hearing for Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, he accused Sanders of taking millions from the same industry he claims to oppose.

Kennedy wasted no time in challenging Sanders. “Bernie, the problem of corruption isn’t just in government agencies—it’s in Congress too,” Kennedy said. “Almost all the members of this panel, including yourself, are accepting millions of dollars from the pharmaceutical industry.” His statement drew cheers from the gallery, prompting an immediate and defensive reaction from Sanders.

“No, no, no!” Sanders shouted, waving his arms. “I ran for president like you. I got millions and millions of contributions. They did not come from executives, not one nickel from PACs. They came from workers.” However, Kennedy countered with documented evidence that Sanders had received nearly $2 million in contributions from pharmaceutical-linked sources.

OpenSecrets records show that Sanders accepted $439,256 from pharmaceutical and health product companies during the 2015-16 election cycle. In 2019-20, he led all senators in donations from the industry, collecting over $1.4 million. While Sanders insists that the money came from workers and not executives, the fact remains that he benefited heavily from contributions tied to the very industry he claims to fight.

Despite his vocal opposition to drug companies, Sanders’ acceptance of these funds raises serious questions. His push for government-controlled healthcare, which would give the pharmaceutical industry even more influence, seems at odds with his financial backing. Kennedy’s pointed remarks exposed a glaring contradiction in Sanders’ rhetoric, forcing the senator into a defensive position as he struggled to justify his campaign’s funding.

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