RFK Jr. Clashes With Sanders Over Big Pharma Contributions In Senate Hearing

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) faced strong criticism from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during a tense Senate hearing as Kennedy called attention to the senator’s financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry. The exchange took place during Kennedy’s confirmation hearing for Secretary of Health and Human Services, a position for which he was nominated by President Donald Trump.

While responding to committee questioning, Kennedy shifted the discussion to congressional campaign financing. “By the way, Bernie, you know the problem of corruption is not just in the federal 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 and protecting their interests.”

The remark drew an immediate reaction from Sanders, who forcefully denied that he had taken money from pharmaceutical executives. “Oh no, no, no! No, no, no,” he responded. “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.”

Data compiled by OpenSecrets, which tracks political donations, shows that Sanders was the leading recipient of pharmaceutical-related contributions among senators in the 2019-20 election cycle, collecting over $1.4 million. He also ranked second in the 2015-16 cycle with $439,256 from the industry.

Kennedy pressed Sanders on these figures, challenging him on whether such contributions were consistent with his public opposition to pharmaceutical companies. Sanders pushed back, arguing that the money was from employees, not executives or corporate-backed PACs. “Because I had more contributions from workers all over this country,” Sanders stated. “Workers, not a nickel from corporate PACs… from workers in the industry.”

The confrontation was not the only heated moment between the two men. A day earlier, Sanders grilled Kennedy over his past leadership of Children’s Health Defense, an organization that has opposed vaccine mandates. Displaying baby onesies sold by the group that contained anti-vaccine messaging, Sanders asked Kennedy whether he stood by the organization’s actions. Kennedy responded that he had stepped away from the group and no longer had any involvement in its operations.

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