U.S. President Donald Trump and Congressman Elijah Cummings are scheduled to discuss soaring prescription drug prices Wednesday at a White House meeting that appeared unlikely a few weeks ago.
“The president promised, both during the campaign and after, that he would support efforts to stem the skyrocketing prices of prescription drugs, so I am looking forward to discussing ideas he said he supports,” Cummings said in a statement Tuesday.
The meeting is seen by some political observers as a rare opportunity to discuss an issue of mutual concern between Trump’s Republican administration and adversaries in Congress. Cummings is a Democrat and a member of the Congressional Black Caucus.
After a public exchange of words about the meeting, there was doubt about whether it would occur. The president asked Cummings, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, to meet with him after hearing Cummings discuss rising drug prices on television. Cummings agreed but was surprised when Trump later held a surprise news conference and accused Cummings of backing out of the meeting.
“He was probably told, don’t meet with Trump. It’s bad politics and that’s part of the problem in this country,” Trump said. Trump added the White House tried and failed repeatedly to arrange the meeting. “We called, called, called, called,” he said.
The president also suggested that some Democratic lawmakers, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, encouraged Cummings not to meet with Trump.
Cummings denied the accusations, saying “I have no idea why President Trump would make up a story about me like he did today,” he said in a statement. “Of course, Senator Schumer never told me to skip a meeting with the president. I was actually looking forward to meeting with the president about the skyrocketing price of prescription drugs.”
The meeting was eventually scheduled to take place in the Oval Office. It will also be attended by Democratic Congressman Peter Welch, a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and the president of The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Dr. Redonda Miller.
Trump tweeted yesterday he is developing “a new system” to cut drug prices and promote competition in the pharmaceutical industry.
After the tweet, pharmaceutical stock prices fell – led by biotechnology companies – which use complicated engineering techniques to develop drugs, contributing to their high cost.
In January, the president accused drugmakers of “getting away with murder” on drug prices. He later met at the White House with the heads of some of the world’s largest drug manufacturers. Although it had the makings of a potentially contentious gathering, it was apparently cordial, with Trump telling the executives about plans to shorten the drug approval process, which would help lower drug prices.
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