November 13, 2017

Trump Picks Pharma Exec to Run HHS

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I had totally forgotten that Tom Price was forced to resign as secretary of HHS because he spent over a million dollars of taxpayer money on private charters and military jets. That means we need a new one. But who?

President Trump nominated a pharmaceutical executive to be the next secretary of the Health and Human Services Department. The nominee, Alex M. Azar II, served as a deputy at the department under former President George W. Bush. Until January, he was the head of the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly’s United States division.

Mr. Trump made his announcement in a Twitter post while traveling in Asia. Mr. Trump said Mr. Azar would be “a star for better healthcare and lower drug prices!”

I suppose I didn’t have to ask. Of course it was some wealthy Big Pharma guy. Who else would be a champion for lower drug prices, after all?

Look, I really need that all-purpose response to Trump that I asked for in the last post. Let’s get on this, shall we?

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4 DAYS LEFT—AND EVERYTHING RIDING ON IT

A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

With just 4 days left, we need a huge surge in reader support to get to our $400,000 year-end goal. Whether you've given before or this is your first time, your contribution right now matters. All gifts are 3X matched and tax-deductible.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do. That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

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