ICYMI: Daines Invested In Companies Producing Drug He Is Now Touting

A new report from the Montana Post revealed that Senator Steve Daines has investments in pharmaceutical companies producing the drug hydroxychloroquine while he touts it as a potential treatment for COVID-19, despite numerous studies calling into question the drug’s safety and efficacy. 

The disclosure of Daines’ investments sheds a new light on his recent hawking of the drug and push for increased investments in pharmaceuticals, a “troubling” revelation for Daines as more Republican senators’ investments during coronavirus come under scrutiny. 

The vulnerable Republican incumbent was caught again misleading his constituents on coronavirus relief and has already come under fire for bragging about relief measures that he voted against. Now Daines is under fire for pushing an unproven drug and advocating for increased federal investments in pharmaceuticals, while underplaying the potential gains for his own portfolio. 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

The Montana Post: Steve Daines is Invested in the Ineffective Hydroxychloroquine He Is Touting

By Don Pogreba

April 21, 2020

Key Points: 

• Senator Steve Daines, who has been touting his involvement in directing funds to pharmaceutical companies and the untested drug hydroxychloroquine, has investments in the very companies producing those drugs, another conflict of interest that calls into question just how he chooses to represent Montana.

• Financial disclosure reports show that Daines has a Vanguard Health Care Adm Mutual Fund valued as much as $250,000, and included in its holdings were Amneal Pharmaceuticals and Teva Pharmaceuticals, both of which have been promoting the use of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment method for COVID-19.

• And Senator Daines has joined the chorus of those promoting the treatment. In a 4/10 interview with KBUL, Daines touted the benefits of HCQ and said he was working to bring more to Montana.

• Daines has also been talking at every opportunity about how he pushed for more financial support for pharmaceutical companies in the stimulus bill.

• It’s undeniable that drug treatment must be a part of an effective solution for the COVID-19 pandemic, but it’s troubling that Senator Daines is pushing money towards the very pharmaceutical industry he is invested in. One might argue that a “blind trust” might better protect the interest of voters.

• It’s even more troubling that Daines is hyping hydroxychloroquine while he’s invested in companies that are promoting it, especially given that results have not been promising for the untested treatment. As Politico reported today, a study in the VA showed that hydroxychloroquine treatment led to “more deaths, no benefit”

• The past few weeks have made it abundantly clear that Congress needs far more stringent guidelines regarding the investments of members of the body. Whether it’s including massive kickbacks for real estate developers like Daines in the COVID-19 relief bill or promoting untested drug treatments, members of Congress need to be more transparent and more concerned about public welfare.

Read the full report here.

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