On Wednesday, U.S. Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA) introduced a new bill that would turn President Donald Trump’s recent executive order on prescription drug pricing into federal law. The executive order, which Trump announced on Sunday through a post on Truth Social, aims to lower the cost of prescription medications for Americans by requiring pharmaceutical companies to charge U.S. patients the same or lower prices as those paid by patients in other countries.
In his announcement, President Trump stated that drug companies have been overcharging American consumers for too long, often pricing medications significantly higher in the U.S. than in other industrialized nations. He said that under the new policy, prices in the United States would drop by 30% to 80% almost immediately, while drug prices elsewhere in the world would rise to help level the playing field. Trump referred to the plan as one of the most important executive actions in the country’s history and said it would bring “fairness to America.”
Lets take a look at one example. Enoxaparin is a blood thinner.
A single syringe of the stuff can cost upwards of $800 for Americans. In the UK? $7.30.
Ozempic? $1000 in the US. Its around $80 in Europe.
Eliquis? $7100/year in the US. Its $1000/Year in Japan. https://t.co/JAVinyKAkz— America First Insight (@AF_Insight) May 11, 2025
The executive order has received support from some unexpected corners of the political spectrum. Representative Khanna, a progressive Democrat from California, voiced his approval and quickly followed with legislation to make the order permanent. On social media, Khanna wrote, “I support @realDonaldTrump effort to ensure Americans do not pay more for drugs than those in other countries.”
Khanna spoke on the House floor to formally introduce the bill. He said the legislation would support Trump’s “Most Favored Nation” policy, which seeks to ensure that Americans pay no more than what people in other countries pay for the same drugs. “Right now we’re paying two to three times more for our drugs than people in other industrialized nations,” Khanna said.
He added that the bill would empower cabinet secretaries to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies, pressure them to avoid overcharging, and allow the U.S. to import lower-cost medications. Khanna also noted that Trump’s executive order is likely to face legal challenges, as similar efforts did during Trump’s first term. For that reason, he said it is important for Congress to act and pass a law to back up the executive order.
Khanna called on his Republican colleagues to support the legislation, saying that if he could cross the aisle to support Trump’s order, they should be willing to do the same for the bill. “The only way we can stand up to Big Pharma is to codify in legislation what the president wants to do in an executive order,” he said.
Despite Khanna’s bipartisan appeal, the bill could face significant resistance. Senate Republican leaders, including Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-WY), have previously expressed concern about government-imposed price controls on medications. Thune said on Monday that the policy would be “fairly controversial” in Congress, reflecting broader disagreements within the Republican Party about how to handle drug pricing.
We can safely assume it’s a problem because Trump is leading the charge. Look what Schumer said in 2018!
Americans suffer from the highest prescription drug costs in the developed world. On average, Americans pay over $850 a year on prescription drugs compared to an average of $400 across 19 other industrialized nations. They need #ABetterDeal. pic.twitter.com/9ZVa6uxZsP
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) May 10, 2018
Still, Thune acknowledged Trump’s long-standing interest in lowering drug prices. “He clearly wants lower drug prices,” Thune said. “It’s something, I think — like a lot of other issues — that he’s had a passion about and believed in for a long time.”
The legislation’s path forward remains uncertain, but it has already sparked conversation across party lines and drawn renewed attention to the issue of prescription drug costs in the United States.
