Follow the money: Tim Sheehy takes thousands from drug company lobbyists

Tim Sheehy says he opposes Biden administration efforts to lower prescription drug costs. He has also accepted thousands in donations from pharmaceutical company lobbyists.

Sheehy is running in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate in Montana. If he secures the nomination he’ll challenge Democratic Sen. Jon Tester in the general election.

According to Sheehy’s year-end financial disclosure for 2023, he took a total of $19,950 from lobbyists for Bristol-Myers, Johnson & Johnson, PhRMA, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, Merck, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, and Pfizer. Eight of these companies have filed lawsuits challenging provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act that require drug companies to negotiate drug costs with Medicare and cap the cost of insulin for Medicare recipients.

President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law in 2022. Sheehy criticized Tester for backing the legislation and has claimed, without proof, that it raises costs for Montanans. 

“Turns out the Biden-Tester ‘Inflation Act’ was a total SCAM—doing the exact opposite of what they promised,” Sheehy posted to the social media platform X in December 2023. “Let’s be clear: @jontester & @JoeBiden are increasing inflation & drastically raising Medicare costs! But that won’t stop them from shamelessly lying about their disastrous liberal record.”

An estimated 100,000 Montanans will see lower drug costs as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act. 

In total, Sheehy accepted more than $100,000 from registered lobbyists across multiple industries in 2023. Despite this, he has criticized Tester for taking lobbyist cash.

“On his way to becoming the number one recipient of lobbyist cash, Jon Tester has talked a lot about standing up to the pay-to-play culture in Washington but hasn’t done a thing to stop it,” Sheehy said in a September 2023 press release. “Career politicians like Jon Tester have abandoned the American people — serving the lobbyists, special interests, and themselves instead of hard working Americans. Jon Tester is all talk, no leadership — Montanans deserve better.”

Sheehy has also been accused of hypocrisy for saying he wants to “get tough on China” while accepting $10,000 from lobbyists associated with Chinese tech companies.

A Sheehy campaign spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions for this story. Montana’s senate primary is scheduled for June 4.