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Democrats say Trump's drugmaker holdings reached up to $56.2 million
A congressional Democratic report says Trump's pharmaceutical holdings reached as much as $56.2 million at the end of 2025, including up to $39.1 million in companies benefiting from Medicare negotiation exemptions.
The Joint Economic Committee's minority arm released a report Friday saying President Donald Trump's pharmaceutical stock holdings rose from a maximum reported value of $1.7 million in 2024 to as much as $56.2 million at the end of 2025. It said up to $39.1 million was held in companies benefiting from Medicare negotiation exemptions in Republicans' 2025 tax and spending law.
White House spokesperson Davis Ingle denied any conflict of interest and said third-party financial institutions independently manage Trump's stock and bond portfolio.
Ingle said neither Trump nor any family member can direct, influence or provide input on the portfolio's investments or on when securities are bought or sold.
The exemptions concern medicines developed for rare diseases or conditions. According to healthcare research nonprofit KFF, Republicans' 2025 tax and spending bill expanded an existing exemption, delaying some costly drugs' eligibility for Medicare price negotiations or excluding them entirely. A law from President Joe Biden's administration had first allowed Medicare to negotiate prices for some of the costliest prescription drugs.
Supporters argued that expanding the exemption would encourage development of treatments for rare diseases. Critics say it lets manufacturers of blockbuster medicines avoid negotiations that could reduce costs for Medicare and its recipients.
The committee's report estimated that beneficiaries receiving Merck's Keytruda or Bristol Myers Squibb's Opdivo could pay roughly $5,000 more annually than if Medicare negotiated those drugs' prices. It said Trump's portfolio includes shares in both companies.