As is often pointed out, Washington Joe Manchin tries to play both sides of a lot of issues. But there’s one thing he has never wavered on – his undying support for Big Pharma, and in particular, Mylan.
Washington Joe has been a longtime friend to Mylan, even using his friendship with the company’s founder to get his daughter, current Mylan CEO Heather Bresch, her first job at the company way back in the ‘90s.
As Mylan has been hit with scandal, after scandal, Washington Joe has stood by his good friends, encouraging his colleagues to be “open-minded” in investigating the company.
Their association with Mylan has paid off handsomely for the Manchin family. Over the course of his Senate career, Washington Joe has received $127,500 in campaign contributions from Mylan, making the pharmaceutical company his second largest contributor. And as Mylan engaged in price gouging, raising the price of its life-saving EpiPen by 500% while Washington Joe’s wife, Gayle Manchin, spearheaded an effort to require schools to purchase the drug, Bresch received a healthy salary bump from $2.4 million to $19 million.
Folks are starting to notice that Washington Joe has seemed more concerned with looking out for the best interests of Mylan and the rest of the pharmaceutical industry than West Virginians. Manchin’s primary opponent, Paula Jean Swearengin, has even made it a centerpiece of her campaign against him.
“Washington Joe hasn’t been shy about his support for Mylan and the pharmaceutical industry,” said NRSC Spokesman Bob Salera. “Even as the company comes under investigation for price gouging and ripping off taxpayers, Washington Joe has been a true friend to Mylan, urging his colleagues in D.C. to be ‘open-minded’.”