Laura Loomer Is Getting a Taste of Her Own Medicine
Just a day after reports emerged that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had tapped the far-right '9/11 truther' to help identify leakers among his staff, Loomer has now herself become the subject of intense scrutiny. Some conspiracists are accusing her of being a 'plant' for pharmaceutical companies concerned about administration policies that could cut into their bottom dollar, reported The Bulwark.
The self-appointed 'loyalty enforcer' has had enormous success influencing the Trump administration from the safety of her X account: An analysis by The Daily Beast found that at least 16 individuals were fired from the federal government after Loomer singled them out as covert Democratic agents.
But now her intraparty success is coming back to bite her. At issue is the recent firing of Dr. Vinay Prasad, who until last week was in charge of the Food and Drug Administration division that oversees vaccines and gene therapies. Prasad resigned from his position after Loomer accused him of being disloyal to the president, alleging he owned a Trump voodoo doll. (The claim is a mischaracterization of a rhetorical anecdote Prasad spelled out in a podcast episode.)
Of note for far-right influencers: Prasad was in the midst of duking it out with Massachusetts-based drug manufacturer Sarepta over the company's drug Elevidys, which treats Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The FDA put Elevidys's clinical trials on hold last month after two patients died while taking the drug, and after another individual passed away while taking a related treatment. All three people died from acute liver toxicity.
Shortly before Prasad resigned, the FDA reversed course on its decision, deciding that some patients who still had the ability to walk could receive the drug.
Loomer's peers considered the connection between her attacks on Prasad, the new FDA decision, and Prasad's firing fairly obvious.
Right-wing Big Pharma critic Kevin Bass accused Loomer of being a 'plant' to 'oust FDA official Vinay Prasad.' American Majority CEO Ned Ryun wrote that Loomer was 'funded by Sarepta Therapeutics to take Vinay out,' referring to the influencer as 'completely nuts.'
'The reason I find this and you so loathsome is that this behavior is the antithesis of the MAGA and MAHA movements,' Ryun added.
Loomer has rejected the claims, writing to her 1.7 million followers on X that she hasn't accepted any money from Big Pharma.
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