Trump increased investments in drugmakers that benefited from Medicare exemptions, Democrats say

WASHINGTON (AP) — Investments in pharmaceutical companies made on behalf of President Donald Trump increased significantly after he returned to the White House last year, with his portfolio adding millions of dollars in stock in firms that benefited from a Republican-backed law that shields certain medications from Medicare price negotiations, according to a report from congressional Democrats.

The report, released Friday by the Joint Economic Committee’s minority arm, found that Trump’s pharmaceutical stock holdings grew from a maximum reported value of $1.7 million in 2024 to as much as $56.2 million at the end of 2025. The report said that included up to $39.1 million worth of stock held in companies that benefited from exemptions to Medicare’s drug price negotiation program, which came through a provision in Republicans' 2025 tax and spending law.

Additional analysis of Trump's financial disclosures provided by committee Democrats showed that his investment portfolio bought as much as $2.55 million in shares of pharmaceutical companies benefiting from the exemptions on three dates before he signed the legislation in July 2025. That included up to $950,000 in purchases on July 1, 2025, the day the Senate passed the bill. His portfolio also bought as much as $1 million in AbbVie stock in August 2025, after the bill became law.

The Republican president’s wealth has grown since he took office last year through a web of business interests, many of which have benefited from the policy moves of his administration. The White House has repeatedly denied any ethics issues and accused Democrats of “attempts to fabricate conflicts of interest.”

The report also noted that the exemptions policy could leave some Medicare beneficiaries paying thousands of dollars more for certain cancer treatments and other medications than they would have if Medicare had been allowed to negotiate lower prices.

The findings come as Trump has made lowering prescription drug costs a central part of his healthcare policy, striking deals with pharmaceutical companies that his administration says will make medications more affordable for Americans, although drug pricing is based on a complicated set of factors.

Recent polling from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that most Americans think Trump is profiting off the presidency in unethical or illegal ways and is focused more on his wealth than on helping people like them.

Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan, who leads the Joint Economic Committee’s minority arm, called the report’s findings “outrageous and yet typical from this president, who makes the American people foot the bill again and again for his own gains.”

Davis Ingle, a White House spokesperson, said Trump's stock and bond portfolio is independently managed by third-party financial institutions. He denied any conflict of interest.

“Neither President Trump nor any member of his family has any ability to direct, influence, or provide input regarding how the portfolio is invested or when investments are bought or sold,” Ingle said in a statement.

A law from President Joe Biden's Democratic administration allowed Medicare for the first time to negotiate prices for some of the costliest prescription drugs. Republicans' 2025 tax and spending bill expanded an existing exemption for medications developed to treat rare diseases or conditions, delaying when certain costly drugs could become eligible for negotiations or excluding them entirely, according to healthcare research nonprofit KFF.

Also known as the orphan drug exclusion, the carveout allows drug companies to continue charging lucrative prices that might otherwise have been reduced through Medicare negotiations.

Supporters of the change argued that a broader exemption would encourage drug companies to develop treatments for rare diseases. Critics say it allows makers of blockbuster medications to avoid negotiations that could lower costs for Medicare and its recipients.

The report estimated that Medicare beneficiaries receiving the cancer drugs Keytruda, manufactured by Merck, and Opdivo, by Bristol Myers Squibb, could pay roughly $5,000 more annually than they would if Medicare negotiated prices for the medications. Trump's portfolio includes stock in both firms.

The report also said that Trump's portfolio continued to buy and sell pharma company stocks throughout the first eight months of 2026, adding as much as $3.5 million in stock wealth in the sector.

Associated Press writer Bernard Condon in New York contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump departs to sit with guests after speaking in the Rose Garden of the White House during an event for first responders, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

President Donald Trump speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House during an event for first responders, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

President Donald Trump speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House during an event for first responders, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

ROME (AP) — Pope's doctors say tests confirm the 'continued improvement' in his condition after cancer surgery.

THIS IS AN APNewsAlert. Check back for updates. AP's earlier story is below.

Pope Leo XIV’s recovery from lung surgery has progressed so normally that the Vatican on Friday stopped providing morning updates confirming he had woken up and had breakfast, even as questions swirled about what his cancer means for the future of his young pontificate.

But in a sign it was all systems go, the Vatican on Friday published the names of journalists whose accreditation requests had been accepted to fly on Leo’s plane with him during his Nov. 6-17 trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru.

Leo’s ability to make the trip has been in question since his Oct. 13 surgery, and the Vatican can change plans at any time. But the posting of the media list signaled that at least on an organizational level, the trip was going ahead.

In the nearer term, Vatican officials were gaming out possible scenarios for Leo to recite the traditional Sunday noontime Angelus prayer. Vatican media personnel were seen at the Gemelli hospital laying cables for a possible live broadcast, as past popes have done when hospitalized.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, said a recitation of the noontime prayer on Sunday from the hospital was a possibility, but would depend on Leo’s post-operative recovery. Such appearances have often served as a welcome confirmation of a hospitalized pope's well-being for the 1.4-billion strong Catholic faithful and others.

Parolin said he remained concerned about the pope, but indicated that was also a function of his surprise at learning that Leo needed surgery. Parolin, who was considered a leading contender in the conclave that elected Leo and was recently passed over as dean of the College of Cardinals, surprised some by suggesting that the pontificate itself might need to be adjusted.

“We can’t make any type of predictions,” Parolin said Thursday on the sidelines of a diplomatic event, according to the LaPresse and ANSA news agencies. “The question now is when he will return, under what circumstances he will return, and what the doctors say. And based on all these factors, the pope will then adjust his pontificate, if it needs to be adjusted,” he was quoted as saying.

The 71-year-old Leo had the lower lobe of his right lung removed on Tuesday after doctors identified a suspected cancerous nodule. The surgery confirmed he had adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer.

On Thursday, the American pope resumed working from his hospital room and met with his chief of staff, while continuing with respiratory physiotherapy. His doctors said tests showed his lung had recovered well from surgery, that other post-operative tests were in the norm and that overall his recovery was proceeding as expected.

Doctors are still awaiting the results of tests to understand the precise molecular and genetic makeup of the cancer, whether it has spread beyond the lobe and whether any further treatment is necessary.

Meanwhile, the Vatican on Friday released photos of some get-well notes that had been sent to Leo from patients at Gemelli's pediatric oncology ward, located on the 10th floor, where popes past have often visited during their own hospitalizations.

One, from 7-year-old Angelo, told Leo that he had been on the 10th floor for 36 days. “My mother and I pray for you every night. Get well soon," he wrote, with little hearts at the bottom.

Giorgia, a university-aged student, wrote to Leo in his native English, saying she had long loved learning and practicing the language.

“When I heard on the news about you and your situation, I felt it a thousand times harder, because in some ways we're going through the same thing, and it made me feel closer to you,” she wrote. “I pray to God that we both heal and I ask you to pray for me, too.”

Associated Press visual journalist Trisha Thomas contributed to this report.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

A woman holds photos of Pope Leo XIV as she prays at the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic where the pontiff is hospitalised, in Rome, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

The moon rises behind the statue of late Pope St. John Paul II at the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic where Pope Leo XIV is hospitalised, in Rome, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Leo XIV arrives at the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, where he's expected to be operated to remove a lung nodule. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

An image of Pope Leo XIV is seen under the statue of late Pope St. John Paul II at the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic where the pontiff is hospitalised, in Rome, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

An image of Pope Leo XIV is seen under the statue of late Pope St. John Paul II at the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic where the pontiff is hospitalised, in Rome, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)