Another massive Trump White House failure
Government report titles tend to be long and far from eye-catching. However, these reports often reveal eye-popping information, especially when it concerns the Trump administration. One prime example of this is a new report from the Department of Defense Inspector General (IG) regarding pill-popping at the White House, showcasing a plethora of ethical as well as criminal violations.
The report, “Evaluation of the DoD Internal Controls Related to Patient Eligibility and Pharmaceutical Management Within the National Capital Region Executive Medicine Services,” details how the White House Medical Unit ran a pharmacy eager to dispense medication, including controlled substances to staff members. Prompted by complaints, the IG reviewed records from 2017 through 2019 and interviewed over 120 officials.
The IG concluded that the Trump White House’s drug operations were not just problematic but “severe and systemic.” As a result, a lack of oversight meant a risk of prescribing errors and poor medication management, threatening the health and safety of patients. Adding insult to injury, the Trump White House often avoided generic drugs, unnecessarily adding more to the bill for taxpayers. For example, the IG found the pharmacy “spent an estimated $46,500 for brand name Ambien, which is 174 times more expensive than the generic equivalent” and “an estimated $98,000 for brand name Provigil, which is 55 times more expensive than the generic equivalent.”
The report, which you can read here, continues revealing even more types of violations, such as providing a wide range of healthcare and pharmaceutical services to ineligible staffers, flouting federal law. We are three good years out from the last day of the Trump administration, yet new Trump scandals are still being uncovered. Indeed, each passing day brings new reasons why a second Trump term would be America’s greatest mistake.
Ron Leshnower is a lawyer and the author of several books, including President Trump’s Month