Wyden, Merkley Demand Answers from Kennedy, Oz on Newly Formed Healthcare Advisory Committee

Wyden, Merkley Demand Answers from Kennedy, Oz on Newly Formed Healthcare Advisory Committee

Several Members of the Committee Have Ties to Trump, Lack Necessary Healthcare Experience

Letter to HHS and CMS

Washington, D.C. - Today, Oregon's U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee and a senior member of the Senate Budget Committee, and Jeff Merkley, Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, demanded answers from Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz on the newly formed Healthcare Advisory Committee. Wyden and Merkley expressed concerns with the Committee, including its members having limited healthcare experience, conflicts of interest, and ties to the Trump family.

"The majority of the Committee's 18 members are executives or investors of companies that stand to benefit directly from the Committee's recommendations. Even more troubling are reports that several members have made significant campaign contributions to President Trump, have received favors from him, or have business relationships with members of his family. These relationships suggest that Committee members were not selected on the basis of merit or expertise, raising doubts about the impartiality of their advisory work," wrote the senators.

Wyden and Merkley have concerns with several of the members appointed by Kennedy and Oz, including:

• Tony Robbins, a motivational speaker with no healthcare credentials who skipped the Committee's first meeting.

• Elizabeth Fago, who has deep financial ties to the nursing home and long-term care industry; these sectors are heavily dependent on Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement. Ms. Fago has also raised millions of dollars for Trump's presidential campaigns, and she attended a $1 million-per-person fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago in April 2025. Weeks after that dinner, President Trump granted a full and unconditional pardon to her son, Paul Walczak, who had pled guilty to multiple tax crimes and been sentenced to 18 months in prison.

• William Gassen, who is the CEO of Sanford Health and the chairman-elect of the American Hospital Association. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Oscar Health, a health insurance and technology company founded by the President's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

• Sebastian Caliri, who is a venture capitalist with a stake in BlinkRx, a company whose board includes Donald Trump Jr. and has been linked to the TrumpRx venture.

• Andrew Lynch, who is the Chief Strategy Officer at Acadia Healthcare, which in 2024 paid nearly $20 million to settle False Claims Act allegations.

Wyden and Merkley called on Kennedy and Oz to answer several questions about the appointment of these members, including compliance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

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