Sparks fly between McKee, Foulkes after DOJ lawsuit against CVS
By Nancy Lavin, Rhode Island Current
Nowhere in the 97-page federal lawsuit against CVS Health is its former pharmacy leader, Helena Buonanno Foulkes, mentioned by name.
Dan McKee, of all people, implies
wrong-doing by Foulkes
But Gov. Dan McKee’s campaign was quick to point out the connection between the pharmacy giant’s alleged misdeeds and his former gubernatorial rival. Foulkes served as president of CVS Pharmacy Inc. for four years during the decade in which the U.S. Department of Justice alleges the pharmacy giant filled fake prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances.
The DOJ’s complaint, unsealed on Wednesday, alleges that CVS worsened the opioid crisis, pointing the finger at company policies — and the unnamed executives who developed or enforced them — for creating a “soul-crushing” environment for employees with “deadly” consequences for patients.
Less than 24 hours after U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha unveiled the damning accusations in a press conference with reporters, Gov. Dan McKee’s campaign came out with its own response to “the wrongdoing that took place under Helena Foulkes tenure as CEO.”
“Allegations in the DOJ suit concerning behavior of certain CVS employees during the opioid crisis that began in 2013 are deeply disturbing,” Mike Trainor, a spokesperson for McKee’s campaign, said in a statement Thursday morning.
“We must hold accountable those executives whose greed created institutional profit by spreading addiction throughout our communities. The DOJ suit strongly suggests that CVS executives also jeopardized the wellbeing of an important Rhode Island employer as their alleged actions reaped devastation on many of our families and even caused deaths.”
Mckee also highlighted his own record as then-lieutenant governor to crack down on drug manufacturers.
“As Lieutenant Governor, I led a joint effort of Rhode Island’s cities and towns to successfully sue drug manufacturers and achieve substantial compensatory damages,” he said in a statement on Thursday. “My concern and focus on the critical issue of how deadly drugs are “legally” distributed to our citizens remains strong to this day.”
Foulkes returned the jab a few hours later in a statement of her own.
She accused McKee of “trying to distract from his failed leadership on the Washington Bridge crisis and the cyberattack affecting countless Rhode Island families by misrepresenting facts about one of the state’s largest employers.”
Foulkes also defended her tenure at CVS Pharmacy.
“As president of CVS Pharmacy from 2014 to 2018, I led a team which confronted the opioid crisis head-on, implementing strict controls that cut opioid prescriptions by 45%. Instead of solving our state’s challenges, Governor McKee would rather exploit a crisis for political gain,” Foulkes said in a statement.
The opioid epidemic, and Foulkes’ potential involvement as a former CVS executive, was a central topic in the 2022 gubernatorial primary, which featured Foulkes, McKee and three other Democratic candidates. While McKee held on to the seat, besting Foulkes in the primary by a 3-percentage-point margin.
Neither has confirmed their plans for the 2026 race, but speculation about a rematch between the former campaign rivals was already swirling before the latest beef on CVS.
Foulkes has started rallying supporters for a potential 2026 campaign already, reporting more than $411,000 in donations and $40,000 in spending in the three-month period that ended Sept. 30, according to the most recent report filed with the Rhode Island Board of Elections. Foulkes has more than $800,000 cash on hand in her campaign account, though she also owes $1.8 million in outstanding personal loans.
McKee’s reelection campaign appears less aggressive on the fundraising front thus far. He received $144,000 in donations, spending $38,000 in the same three-month reporting period, according to his third-quarter campaign finance report. His campaign reported $505,000 cash on hand, including an outstanding, $21,900 personal loan, as of Sept. 30.
Joseph Shekarchi, another rumored potential candidate for the 2026 Democratic gubernatorial primary, dismissed the prospect of a run for the top state office in an interview on Dec. 16. Shekarchi reported $3.1 million cash on hand as of Dec. 2, the most recent reporting deadline for candidates in the Nov. 5 election.
Rhode Island Current is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Rhode Island Current maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janine L. Weisman for questions: info@rhodeislandcurrent.com.
