iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services, fended off accusations from Democrats that he acted improperly as a member of Congress by trading shares of a pharmaceutical company, while offering few concrete details about the president’s plans for an Obamacare replacement or entitlement reform.
The physician-turned-lawmaker was questioned early in the hearing by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., regarding a series of trades he made in an Australian pharmaceutical company. The company could benefit from a bill passed by Congress to expedite the drug approval process.
Democrats have questioned whether Price acted on inside information after learning about the company from Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., a major shareholder. Price has flatly denied that he violated the STOCK Act.
“Doesn’t this show bad judgment?” Wyden asked.
“No,” Price responded. “The reality is that everything that I did was ethical, and above board and transparent.”
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, blasted Democrats’ line of questioning: “I have never seen this level of partisan rancor when it comes to dealing w/ a president from an opposing party.”
The Office of Government Ethics has approved Price’s plan to divest himself of all medical-related stocks and assets that could pose potential conflicts of interest.
Price had few details about Republicans’ repeal and replacement plans, arguing that his role as an administrator will be to implement the laws Congress passes and carry out the president’s directive.
Is it true, Sen. Sherrod Brown asked, that the details of the plan will be revealed after his confirmation, as Trump has said?
“It’s true that he said this, yes,” Price replied.
“Did he lie to the public about working with you?” Brown asked.
“I’ve had conversations with the president about health care, yes,” Price said, later adding that the goal is to provide all Americans with access to health insurances, rather than the universal coverage Democrats have aimed to achieve.
Later in the hearing, he suggested Democrats were trying to score political points against him.
“We know what’s going on here, and I understand. And as my wife tells me, I volunteered for this,” he said.
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