American Bridge Vice President Shripal Shah released the following statement on Donald Trump’s announcement that he will nominate Alex Azar to serve as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services:

“Donald Trump is already sabotaging Obamacare – needlessly raising healthcare costs for American families all over the country – and failing to stand-up to rising drug prices like he promised.  Now he’s tapping a former pharmaceutical company lobbyist to help him do more damage at HHS.  For anyone concerned about health care access, affordability, and women’s reproductive rights, this administration has been a disaster from the start and now appears poised to get even worse.”

To read American Bridge’s full research file on Azar, please click HERE.

If Azar is confirmed by the Senate, it will mean that the Trump Administration has, in contradiction of Trump’s repeated pledge to “drain the swamp,” hired at least 189 former lobbyists to date.