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Rubio: Federal agencies should immediately cut ties with McKinsey

by Olafimihan Oshin - 04/13/22 1:42 PM ET

Greg Nash
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) speaks to a reporter before heading into the Senate Chamber a procedural vote regarding the nomination of Alvaro Bedoya to be a Federal Trade Commissioner on Wednesday, March 30, 2022.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Wednesday said that federal agencies should immediately cut ties with management consulting firm McKinsey & Company amid reports of the firm allowing its employees to consult for government agencies.

“McKinsey & Company’s entire business model is to profit from undisclosed conflicts of interest,” Rubio said in a statement.

Rubio also cited the company’s relationship with the Chinese Communist Party, China’s leading government power, saying the party poses an “existential threat to our nation.”

“We know the company has been doing this with opioid producers and federal regulators, which underscores the massive danger posed by McKinsey’s work for both the Chinese Communist Party and vast segments of America’s national security infrastructure. The Chinese Communist Party poses an existential threat to our nation, and McKinsey cannot be trusted. Every federal agency should immediately cut ties with the company.”

Rubio’s latest statement comes following a new report from the House Committee on Oversight and Reform out on Wednesday which detailed that McKinsey consultants had frequently worked on Food and Drug Administration (FDA) contracts while also working for opioid manufacturers, such as Purdue Pharma.

“McKinsey staffed at least 22 consultants at both the FDA and opioid manufacturers on related topics, including at the same time. Behind the scenes McKinsey consultants leveraged their federal connections to secure even more private sector business and tried to influence key public health officials on behalf of clients like Purdue Pharma,” committee chairwoman Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) said in a statement.

“McKinsey must answer for its actions, and I plan to have McKinsey’s Global Managing Partner testify before my Committee on the conflicts of interest uncovered in this report. I remain committed to uncovering the full scope of McKinsey’s conflicts of interest across the federal government and advancing legislative solutions to safeguard the health and security of the American public.”

Updated at 3:42 p.m.