Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) sent a letter to Scott Gottlieb, the former Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) who recently joined the board of directors at Pfizer, calling on Dr. Gottlieb to resign from his position at Pfizer. Senator Warren noted that Pfizer has billions of dollars at stake in FDA decisions and wrote that his board appointment is exactly the kind of "revolving door influence-peddling" that causes Americans to lose faith in government.

 

"This will certainly be a lucrative move for you -- according to Pfizer, board members in 2018 were paid $142,500 in cash retainers, plus received $192,500 worth of Pfizer stock," wrote Senator Warren in her letter to Dr. Gottlieb. "But this kind of revolving door influence-peddling smacks of corruption, and makes the American people rightly cynical and distrustful about whether high-level Trump administration officials are working for them, or for their future corporate employers."

 

Dr. Gottlieb is the second high-level Trump Administration official in less than two months who, soon after leaving government service, joined the board of a corporation with interests related to their work in the administration. Former Department of Homeland Security Secretary and Chief of Staff John Kelly helped lead the Trump administration's "zero-tolerance" immigration policy that led to forcibly separating thousands of migrant children from their parents. Shortly after leaving government, General Kelly joined the board of Caliburn, Inc., the parent company of the Comprehensive Health Services, which runs the Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children in Florida. Senator Warren and her colleague Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) opened an investigation into General Kelly's associations with Caliburn before, during, and after his time in government.

 

Senator Warren's sweeping ethics legislation, the Anti-Corruption and Public Integrity Act, would shut the revolving door and prohibit giant companies like Pfizer from wielding undue influence by hiring or compensating any senior government officials for at least four years after leaving government service, among other measures to root out corruption in government. Representatives Jayapal and John Sarbanes (D-Md.) introduced the companion bill in the U.S. House of Representatives. From former oil lobbyists running federal agencies to those responsible for protecting our environment and interior, the bill would crack down on all forms of corruption and peddling. 

 

"I intend to keep working to make that plan law," wrote Senator Warren to Dr. Gottlieb. "In the interim, however, you should rectify your mistake and immediately resign from your position as a Pfizer board member. Doing so would send a strong and necessary message to the American people about the importance of government ethics and the integrity of current and former federal officials."

 

Senator Warren has previously criticized Pfizer for reneging on a promise not to hike up the prices on many of its prescription drugs as Americans struggle to afford the medications they need.

 

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