The Trump administration reportedly paid a PR firm more than $2 million to get a top healthcare official on 'Power Women' lists and magazine covers
The Trump administration forked over more than $2 million to contractors who discussed a publicity plan to get Seema Verma, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services chief, on "Power Women" lists and magazines like Glamour, according to a new Politico report.
An outline of the publicity plan said that a top-dollar media consultant, Pam Stevens, had set up profiles of Verma and pitched her to other media outlets, Politico reported.
Federal officials are barred from using taxpayer money to generate publicity and from using their public role for private gain.
Verma has overseen the implementation of President Donald Trump's controversial healthcare policies, including rolling back parts of the Affordable Care Act and pushing for work requirements for Medicaid.
The Trump administration forked over more than $2 million to contractors who discussed a publicity plan to get Seema Verma, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services chief, on "Power Women" lists and magazines like Glamour, Politico reported on Wednesday, citing emails it obtained.
They also explored getting Verma invitations to distinguished events like the Kennedy Center Honors gala, the report said.
Verma has been criticized in recent weeks for her agency's use of federal dollars to employ pricey contractors as part of a $2.25 million "strategic communications" contract, Politico reported earlier this month. Some charged up to $380 an hour for work typically handled by career civil servants in the agency's communications department, that report said.
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Politico said the emails suggested the contractors were employed to boost Verma's visibility as a government official and not the policy work of her agency. Verma has said consultants were contracted "to promote the programs" already underway.
An outline of the publicity plan said a top-dollar media consultant, Pam Stevens, had set up profiles of Verma and pitched her to other media outlets, Politico reported.
Federal officials are barred from using taxpayer money to generate publicity and from using their public role for private gain.
CMS told Politico that it "does not consider or move forward with every idea we receive from contractors" and that ethics lawyers vetted the opportunities it pursued.
Verma told Democratic Rep. Joe Kennedy at a congressional hearing last month that all CMS contracts were "based on promoting the work of CMS." But Kennedy told Politico he struggled to understand the merits of the arrangement.
"I have a hard time understanding the logic that this contract was necessary for the execution of the policy positions of this administration," Kennedy said. "There have been important questions raised by the documents."
Verma has overseen the implementation of President Donald Trump's controversial healthcare policies, including rolling back parts of the Affordable Care Act and pushing for work requirements for Medicaid, which provides health insurance to lower-income Americans.
She's also criticized "Medicare for All" plans pushed by some Democrats and what she has characterized as wasteful government spending, Politico noted.
