TO: Interested Parties
FROM: Leslie Dach and Brad Woodhouse, Protect Our Care
DATE: February 23, 2026
SUBJECT: Trump and Republicans in Congress Have Done Nothing to Address Drug Prices
As Donald Trump prepares to double down on affordability during the State of the Union address, one major obstacle stands in his way: the skyrocketing cost of health care. Trump and Republicans cut over $1 trillion from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) — the largest health care cuts in history — ripping coverage away from 15 million Americans and spiking costs for millions more. With premiums soaring, hospitals shutting down, and public health in total crisis, Trump hopes to distract the American people with empty promises to lower drug costs.
No matter what Trump says, he can’t hide from his failed record on drug prices. Aside from marketing schemes and empty promises, Trump and Republicans have done nothing to lower drug prices for patients. He’s promised to bring down drug prices by “1,000 percent,” yet the GOP tax bill pads drug company profits and raises drug costs for thousands of seniors. Trump’s drug pricing executive order reads like a wishlist for Big Pharma, his drug price “deals” boost drug company stocks, and TrumpRx fails to save the vast majority of Americans a single penny. Meanwhile, Democrats have saved seniors and taxpayers billions on drugs this year alone.
GREED WATCH: Drugmakers Are Cashing in Under Trump
The truth is that Trump puts drugmakers above the American people at every opportunity. Trump entertained drug company CEOs at his Mar-a-Lago resort, solicited millions in donations, and then spent the past year handsomely rewarding Big Pharma for their support. As part of the GOP tax bill, Republicans handed out major tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations, including big drug companies. They didn’t stop there: Trump helped big drug companies evade billions in taxes, escape tariffs, and exempt their top-selling products from drug price negotiations.
The results are paying off for big drug companies as they are reporting eye-popping profits while working families struggle to afford the medications that keep them alive. The largest drug companies made over $130 billion in earnings in 2025, while families across America rationed doses, skipped refills, and dove deeper into their savings to afford prescriptions.
Read Protect Our Care’s Latest Greed Watch Report: Drug Company Profits Skyrocket As Trump Cuts Back Room Deals That Screw Over Working Families
Trump Is Trying to Take Credit for Savings While Undermining Medicare Negotiations
When Democrats passed historic legislation giving Medicare the power to negotiate lower drug prices, not a single Republican voted in support. Now, Trump and his GOP allies are simultaneously working to undermine Medicare negotiations while taking credit for its savings for seniors.
While Trump makes sham drug pricing announcements designed to distract the public from his abysmal record, he is working behind the scenes to raise costs for patients. Trump handed Big Pharma their biggest victory in years by signing an $8.8 billion bailout designed to carve out top-selling products, such as lifesaving cancer drugs Keytruda and Opdivo, from Medicare drug price negotiation. Per The Wall Street Journal: “Thousands of Medicare recipients will have to wait longer to get some price relief on the expensive cancer drugs they depend on for treatment, while others might not get any reprieve at all.”
Now, Trump and Republicans in Congress want to hand big drug companies another win at the expense of seniors by delaying Medicare from negotiating lower prices for the small molecule drugs that make up 58 percent of the market. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that this lobbying priority for Big Pharma would cost seniors and taxpayers $10 billion.
TrumpRx Is No More Than a Publicity Stunt (And a Win for Big Pharma)
Trump’s new “TrumpRx” website is a total slap in the face to Americans struggling with prescription drug costs. It doesn’t lower prices, cap out-of-pocket costs, or expand coverage. It’s a useless, dressed-up shopping page that points Americans to discounts they could already find on their own. Most hard-working families won’t save a penny using the site, and experts warn they could actually lose hundreds of dollars by being funneled toward brand-name drugs instead of cheaper generics or medications covered by insurance.
“If this is all that President Trump does on drug pricing, it is likely a win for the pharmaceutical industry and should serve as a clearing event,” said industry analyst and former Trump administration health official Chris Meekins.
Read Protect Our Care’s Fact Sheet: 10 Reasons Why TrumpRx Is an Utter Joke