On Monday morning Kenneth Frazier, the CEO of pharmaceutical giant Merck, resigned from President Donald Trump's manufacturing council. Later in the day Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank and Intel CEO Brian Krzanich joined Frazier in leaving. Both Plank and Krzanich cited political divisions as the primary reasons for stepping away from the council, while Frazier expressed disappointment over the White House's reaction to the events in Charlottesville, Virginia over the weekend.
The council was originally comprised of 28 industry heads from a wide range of manufacturing sectors and interests. These departures are the most recent in a string of activity that leaves the council without some of the luster it once held.
Since April, council members Klaus Kleinfeld, Mario Longhi, Mark Fields, Jeff Immelt and Doug Oberhelman have all resigned from their CEO positions. Kleinfeld left the metals engineering firm Arconic after facing pressure from his board about bad management decisions, and is no longer on the council. Similarly, Fields “resigned” as CEO of Ford Motor Company and his position on the council in May. Immelt announced his departure from GE, and its CEO position, in June but will remain on the council. While Oberhelman, the CEO of equipment manufacturer Caterpillar, and U.S. Steel's Longhi left their posts early in 2017. Longhi is no longer on the council.
The resignation of Frazier, Plank and Krzanich follows the exit of Tesla CEO Elon Musk. He resigned from the council in June after the U.S. withdrew from the Paris climate agreement. This means nearly one-third of the council has either quit or no longer holds the same level of insight as when the council was created in January. Of the 19 other members, two are union officials and one (Scott Paul with the Alliance for American Manufacturing) works for a non-profit organization.
Frazier, the only African-American member of the council, resigned after the White House failed to issue an official statement condemning the actions of white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia over the weekend. The President responded to the news from Frazier by tweeting: “Now that Ken Frazier of Merck Pharma has resigned from President's Manufacturing Council, he will have more time to LOWER RIPOFF DRUG PRICES!”
It’s assumed that President Trump was referring to the rising use of generic medicines, which are available at a lower price and produced in mass once drug patents expire.
Frazier’s complete statement, which was posted on Twitter Monday morning, follows:
“I am resigning from the President’s American Manufacturing Council. Our country’s strength stems from its diversity and the contributions made by men and women of different faiths, races, sexual orientations and political beliefs. America's leaders must honor our fundamental values by clearly rejecting expressions of hatred, bigotry and group supremacy, which run counter to the American ideal that all people are created equal. As CEO of Merck and as a matter of personal conscience, I feel a responsibility to take a stand against intolerance and extremism."