Republicans who are now critical of Kamala Harris have targeted price gouging in the past

It wasn't long after Vice President Kamala Harris announced her plans to combat corporate “price gouging” on Friday that Donald Trump accused her of promoting Soviet-style communism.

In an apparent reference to Harris' admittedly vague plan to ban “price gouging” on food, the former president wrote on Truth Social, “Kamala will impose Soviet-style price controls,” one of several measures he claimed would make inflation “a hundred times WORSE.”

The Republican National Committee joined in, sharing the New York Post’s Saturday headline “Kamunism” on X with the caption “Comrade Kamala.”

It is not clear what exactly would be considered price gouging under Harris' proposed federal ban.

Harris made clear, however, that she agrees with economists who have found that some firms take advantage of market conditions to increase profits by charging higher prices, rather than simply raising their prices in response to an increase in demand relative to existing supply. And in certain industries, Harris and these economists said, dominant firms have found ways to crowd out competition in such a way that there is no natural course-correcting mechanism for this price-gouging.

In addition, Harris highlighted two industries in particular that are the focus of criticism among many Republicans: the beef and pharmaceutical industries.

In December, Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) introduced a bill that would restrict the operations of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), a middleman that negotiates prescription drug prices for insurance plans. The bill, which is currently sponsored by 10 Republicans and five Democrats, would require PBMs to bill insurance plans the same amount they reimburse pharmacies and pass on any discounts they negotiate with pharmacies to the insurance plans.

Grassley is a longtime critic of the pricing practices of PBMs and pharmaceutical companies, going so far as to accuse some companies of price gouging. “As the leading advocate for lower drug prices in the U.S. Senate, I have dragged Big Pharma executives and pharmacy benefit managers before Congress, led a two-year bipartisan investigation into insulin price gouging, and pushed for bipartisan reforms to lower the cost of insulin and many other prescription drugs,” Grassley wrote in a Comment from October 2022 in the Iowa City Press-Citizen.

He sounds a lot like Harris, who said on Friday“With your support, I will lower the cost of insulin and prescription drugs for everyone, not just our seniors. And I will demand transparency from the middlemen between big pharma and insurance companies who use opaque methods to drive up your drug prices and profit from your need for medication.”

There are also a number of Republican lawmakers who have advocated for federal intervention to end price gouging in the beef industry. Grassley joined Senators Mike Rounds (RS.D.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) in February 2023 to Meatpacking Special Investigator Actwhich provides for the establishment of a new special investigator in the Department of Agriculture to combat the anti-competitive practices of the meatpacking giants.

The trio argued that concentration in the meatpacking industry, which is now dominated by just four companies, has enabled the corporations to squeeze independent livestock farmers by charging lower purchase prices and then charging consumers ever higher prices in supermarkets.

“For years, the gap between the price cattle ranchers receive for their high-quality American products and the price of beef in the supermarket has been widening,” Rounds said at the time. “Meanwhile, the four largest beef packers, which control 85 percent of our beef processing capacity, have posted record profits. This has resulted in an average of nearly 17,000 cattle ranchers going out of business each year since 1980.”

Harris alluded to a similar dynamic when she lamented that the price of “ground beef has increased 50%. Many of the major food companies are reporting their highest profits in two decades. And while many grocery chains are passing on those savings, others still aren't.”

“We will help the food industry become more competitive because I believe competition is the lifeblood of our economy,” she added. “More competition means lower prices for you and your families.”

Some Republicans even share Harris' concerns about the lack of competition in the supermarket industry.

Alaska Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, both Republicans, wrote to the Federal Trade Commission in September to call for a rigorous review of a possible merger between supermarket groups Kroger and Albertsons.

“The record of food consolidation in our state does not bode well for the food security and affordability of Alaskans and our dedicated workforce,” they wrote.

When the FTC sued in February to block the merger, celebrated the decision. “This announcement will be a relief to countless Alaskans,” she said. “From the possibility of even higher grocery prices to longer-term store closures, there were simply too many unknowns and uncertainties for this merger to move forward.”