Trump’s continuing to sell access to the presidency
Trump’s continuing to sell access to the presidency
The New York Times: “Trump Delayed a Medicare Change After Health Company Donations”
Joseph, earlier this year, the Trump administration was set to move forward with a Biden administration plan to restrict Medicare reimbursements for a type of expensive bandages.
But then, the Trump administration decided to delay the change.
The change was made after Oliver Burckhardt of biotech company Extremity Care attended a dinner that President Trump hosted for a small group of major donors at Mar-a-Lago back in March. And a week before that event, Burckhardt’s company donated $5 million to MAGA Inc., a pro-Trump political committee, which paved the way for him to attend the event, where he urged the Trump administration to delay the plan to limit Medicare’s coverage.
Again and again, we’ve seen that Trump responds not to the needs of the American people, but to the size of the check. His willingness to take these donations makes one thing unmistakably clear: access to the White House comes with a price tag.DONATE → The influence campaign by Extremity Care wasn’t the only one to sway the president’s decision making. It was among dozens of other seven and eight-figure contributions to MAGA Inc.
Many of these donors were able to purchase face time with the president to plead for their causes.
MAGA Inc., which can raise unlimited contributions, raised $177 million in the first half of this year. This included donations from a mother seeking a pardon for her son, people who had been, or would later be, appointed to posts in Trump’s administration and companies seeking preferential treatment from the administration.
Trump’s hands-on participation in this fundraising operation has allowed fundraisers and lobbyists to boost their standing with him while advancing their clients’ interests.
For instance, several companies that donated to MAGA Inc. this year were represented by Brian Ballard, one of Trump’s top fundraisers. Ballard’s firm has pocketed $710,000 to lobby for Extremity Care and a related company.
And the payoff? Since April, when Biden’s rule would have taken effect, Medicare has shelled out more than $2.3 billion for skin substitute bandages, according to an analysis by Early Read.
This is the Trump playbook: companies fork over huge sums, Trump lines his pockets and policies get adjusted in the companies' favor. It’s corruption on full display.
That’s why CREW’s fighting to stop Trump from selling out our government to the highest bidder. Every dollar he takes from wealthy donors is another reminder that he’s looking out for himself —not the people he’s meant to serve.
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