DeSantis fundraiser is a lobbyist for Moderna, puberty blockers and a sanctioned Chinese company
A lobbyist for vaccine maker Moderna and for the maker of a leading puberty inhibitor given to transgender children is holding a fundraiser for Ron DeSantis in Washington DC this month.
It puts Florida’s governor in an awkward position as he tries to narrow down anti-vaxxer sentiment and his track record of gender-affirming treatment all the way to the White House.
He is pushing for a grand jury investigation into Moderna and has banned transgender treatment for minors in Florida.
The Trump campaign quickly slammed DeSantis, accusing him of hypocrisy while doing the bidding of his “globalist masters.”
The controversy stems from an event to be held June 23 at the offices of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, D.C.’s largest federal lobbying firm. DeSantis supporters can purchase a seat with a $1,000 donation, according to an invitation obtained by DailyMail.com.
Lobbyist Marc Lampkin is on the guest committee of a fundraising event for Ron DeSantis in Washington DC. He has represented COVID-19 vaccine maker Moderna, the puberty inhibitor manufacturer and Chinese semiconductor company
Tickets are $1,000 for the event in downtown Washington, DC
One of the hosts is Marc Lampkin, a partner at the firm, who has been on the wrong side of many DeSantis or Republican red button issues.
He has been registered as a lobbyist for Moderna, manufacturer of a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine, since February 2021.
The filings show that he has also been registered with AbbVie, the maker of Lupron, the maker of the puberty inhibitor, since 2014. new patients under 18 years of age.
And the Foreign Agents Registration Act papers show that he represented Fujian Jinhua, a Chinese state-owned semiconductor manufacturer. In 2018, it was approved by the Trump administration, which said it posed a threat to security.
Trump senior aide Jason Miller slammed the clutch.
“It’s no surprise that Ron DeSanctimonious is teaming up with a lobbyist to raise money for a Chinese semiconductor company since his globalist masters at the Club for No Growth have a China First trade policy,” he said.
“DeSanctus’s hypocrisy around the COVID vaccine and his willingness to take money from a representative of a puberty blocker company also show that DeSanctus is willing to sell out anything if the price is right.”
The DeSantis campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
DeSantis asked the Florida Supreme Court in December to set up a grand jury to investigate “misconduct” related to the Covid-19 vaccines, including those of Moderna
But the portfolio of interests puts Lampkin and company at odds with DeSantis.
Last month, Florida’s governor accused an “ideologically charged small group of people within medicine” of forcing transgender procedures on minors.
“They’re trying to perform sex reassignment surgery on minors, they’re giving them things like puberty blockers and doing things that are irreversible for them,” DeSantis said, as he signed into law the use of Lupron and other drugs in children. (Lupron was originally licensed to treat prostate cancer.)
Yet records show that the manufacturer pays AbbVie Lampkin’s firm $60,000 each quarter — $240,000 annually — to defend its case in Washington.
And Moderna pays $320,000 a year for “issues related to mRNA drug discovery, drug development and vaccine technologies.”
DeSantis, who once spoke out in favor of COVID vaccines, has made a nasty case with anti-vaxxers as he tries to carve distinctive territory from his main rival Trump.
In particular, he has expressed concern about mRNA vaccines, of the type made by Moderna, their side effects and their effectiveness.
AbbVie makes Lupron, a drug used in the treatment of gender dysphoria to stop the puberty process
DeSantis spent last week touring the early primary or caucus states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. He is second in the polls to Donald Trump
In December, he asked the Florida Supreme Court to create a grand jury to investigate “misconduct” related to the Covid-19 vaccines.
“An investigation is warranted to determine whether the pharmaceutical industry has engaged in fraudulent practices,” says his petition, which references Moderna 11 times. “The people of Florida deserve to know the truth.”
Like other Republican candidates, DeSantis has identified China as a threat to national security, even banning land purchases by the Chinese Communist Party and its affiliates in Florida.
Yet his Washington lobbyist supporter registered as a “foreign agent” to represent Fujian Jinhua, a joint venture between the Chinese government and the Fujian provincial government.
In 2018, it was accused of stealing US chip technology. The Trump administration blacklisted the company and warned it could flood the market with low-cost semiconductors that could bankrupt U.S. companies that supply the U.S. military, posing a threat to national security.
Robert Spalding, who served as US defense attaché to China before joining Trump’s National Security Council, said the Republican candidates had recognized Beijing as a major threat.
But they had to do more to isolate themselves from Chinese money.
“This is threat number one,” he said. “It’s not an invasion of the United States. It is they who influence our political process through organizations and individuals and companies.’