EPISODE · Jul 16, 2026 · 7 MIN
Charlie James analyzes how a lobbyist connection killed SC Ivermectin bill
from The Charlie James Show Podcast
Host Charlie James previews his upcoming interview with South Carolina Democratic Senate candidate Dr. Annie Andrews before revisiting the state's legislative battle over making Ivermectin an over-the-counter medication. Despite the bill passing nearly unanimously in both the House and Senate, it was ultimately sent back to the Agricultural Committee and effectively killed by Representative Davey Hiatt. Drawing on research from Diane Hardy of the Mom and Pop Alliance of South Carolina, James reveals that Representative Hiatt's son, Lander Hiatt, is a registered lobbyist for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). He suggests that the bill's sudden defeat may have been directly influenced by this deep-seated lobbying connection to major pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson.
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Full Transcript Charlie James: All right, don't forget, coming up at 4:35, my interview with Dr. Annie Andrews, Democrat running for Senate here in South Carolina. Um, all right, do you remember, it was—it was a while back, it was before I went on vacation, um, there was a bill in the House that would have made Ivermectin over the counter in South Carolina. Now, this is—this is a—a—what was it? Is a—is—what is it, a Pulitzer Prize? It wasn't a Pulitzer Prize. It was a Nobel—Nobel Prize-winning drug. It's on the World Health Organization's list of essential drugs. It is—it is probably saved more lives around the globe than even penicillin. I mean, this is a—this is like one of those miracle drugs that we have at our disposal. It's unbelievably inexpensive. Unbelievably inexpensive. You can—you can get, I mean, just almost like—however, but—it doesn't cost much. So, there was a bill in our House and the Senate to make Ivermectin over the counter. It passed both houses! I mean, almost unanimously! Almost unanimously, this bill to make Ivermectin over the counter here in South Carolina passed both houses. It was amazing how quickly it went through. But then, when the bill went to the House, and all—all it had to do was pass the House one more time, and it would have gone to the Governor's desk, and he would have signed it, and you would have been able to go to—to the drugstore, just like you would go get Tylenol, you could go get Ivermectin, or similar. Now, that might come into play pretty soon, 'cause what do we have now that's going on across the country? We got this thing called Cyclospora that is caused by a parasite. And this is—this is a—a parasitic disease that—I mean, I don't—I don't use the word "explosive diarrhea" much on the radio, but that's what it causes. And it's pretty darn serious. This is—oh, a parasite? It's, "Charlie, did you say it was caused by a parasite?" Why, yes, I did. What is Ivermectin? Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic! There may come a day here in South Carolina where you're going to wish you had you some Ivermectin. But anyway, last minute, this bill was killed. It was sent back to the Ag Committee. The Agricultural Committee. Now, that's pretty important, and I'll tell you why coming up in just a second. So, who sent this bill back to the Ag Committee? Who referred it back? One Davey Hiatt. One of the RINOs in Columbia sent this bill back, and he said—and this might not be a verbatim quote, but it's close enough—"If you want Ivermectin, you need to go to Tractor Supply and get you a tube... of horse paste." Paraphrasing what he said, but that's the gist of what—what Davey Hiatt said. "If you want Ivermectin, go to Tractor Supply and get you a tube of horse paste." That's what he said. Now, again, remember, this bill passed both houses, had to be passed one more time by—by the House. It got squashed. And we were wondering why. Why did this happen? Well, the first reason—and it is a—a very valid reason—is that we had J. Caleb Martin here in South Carolina, um, he actually campaigned for, and donated to, an opponent of one of the incumbents in the South Carolina Legislature. And if there's one thing the South Carolina Legislature does not want you to do, it's giving money to one of their members' opponents. That's a no-no. Even though they're constantly giving money to run against the Freedom Caucus. But that might not be the only reason. That might not be the only thing that was happening. According to Diane Hardy from the Mom and Pop Alliance of South Carolina, listen to this. Listen to this. According to the South Carolina State Ethics Committee public disclosure of lobbyists' principals, could this bill have been killed because of a very connected lobbyist? Now, wait a minute. What kind of lobbyist would be able to do this? How about, cough, cough, Davey Hiatt's son! Folks, this is blowing my mind. According to the SC State Ethics Commission's public disclosure of lobbyists' pr ...
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Charlie James analyzes how a lobbyist connection killed SC Ivermectin bill
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