Trump Plans to Ask Congress to Enshrine Drug Cost-Lowering Deal into Law

Summary

President Trump plans to ask Congress to pass legislation to lower drug costs, aiming to codify a prior agreement.Zhitong This follows a series of populist proposals targeting cost-of-living issues, including capping credit card interest rates, banning Wall Street investment in single-family homes, and pressuring oil companies.Sina Finance+ 3 Trump has previously negotiated with pharmaceutical companies for price reductions in exchange for tariff relief and is scheduled to meet with insurance companies.Sina Finance However, past efforts have faced strong opposition from industry lobbyists.

Impact Analysis

So this is just the next move in Trump’s broader war on ‘pricing’ ahead of the 2026 midterms.JIN10+ 2 It’s the same playbook he just ran on credit card companies and homebuilders: create a populist firestorm to force concessions.Sina Finance+ 2 He’s already secured some deals with pharma companies for tariff relief and now wants Congress to ‘codify’ them.Zhitong

Frankly, I don’t care if this specific bill passes. The signal is that the entire healthcare sector, especially pharma and biotech, will be a political punching bag for the foreseeable future. The constant headline risk and threat of price controls, whether through legislation or executive pressure, puts a hard ceiling on multiples. This isn’t a one-off event; it’s a sustained campaign. It reinforces our bearish view. The trade is to stay short or underweight the sector—the political overhang is the dominant factor here, not fundamentals.