Pro-MAGA Group Spends Big in Tennessee on Ad Campaign Backing TrumpRX and Opposing SB 2040
The MAGA-aligned group "Shaping Health Initiatives For Tomorrow" (SHIFT) has escalated its campaign against Tennessee's SB 2040, launching three new television ads backed by hundreds of thousands of dollars, thanking State Senators Jack Johnson, John Stevens, and Becky Massey for opposing the controversial legislation that would undermine President Trump's agenda to lower prescription drug prices.
According to ad tracking software, the three ads are running across Nashville, Knoxville, and Jackson media markets, each praising the specific legislator for their opposition to SB 2040 and thanking them for supporting President Trump "every step of the way."
The new ads arrive at a critical moment in Nashville: SB 2040, a bill that would ban Pharmacy Benefit Managers from owning pharmacies, is heading toward a Senate floor for a vote with the legislative clock ticking. Critics of the bill argue it works directly against President Trump's TrumpRx agenda, raising drug prices and limiting healthcare access for Tennesseans.
Real America’s Voice Steve Gruber said on America's Voice Live, SB 2040 would not only “threaten the progress” of TrumpRX, but would “severely disrupt mail order prescription services that many disabled veterans rely on.”
“[The bill] represents an unnecessary expansion of government control,” said the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce.
The three new ads bring SHIFT's total TV spending on the bill to over half a million dollars. The group's first appearance on TV aired earlier this month in the Nashville media market, delivering a pointed warning to Tennessee Senate Republicans:
"President Trump is delivering for Americans through his historic TrumpRX program: lowering drug costs, making critical medicines more affordable. But the Nashville swamp is cooking up a plan to derail President Trump's efforts. They want to shutter healthcare access, causing drug prices to skyrocket and making life harder for Tennessee families. Why are they trying to sabotage the MAGA affordability agenda? Senate Republicans: Stop working against President Trump. Reject Senate Bill 2040."
Conservatives have sounded the alarm on Elon Musk’s X platform, garnering thousands of views and hundreds of likes.
Katie Miller posted to X: In Tennessee, there’s a bill that will close 134 pharmacies, disrupt specialty and mail-order services, and jeopardize TrumpRx access—including fertility meds for families. President Trump is fighting to lower drug costs. Why are state legislators trying to reduce access? More laws and regulations aren’t always good. This is bad for working moms.”
“Not sure how a bill that makes it harder for 120,000 Veterans to get their mail-order medicines is a good thing for Tennessee. Let’s take away power from Big Pharma and make medicine cheaper, not more expensive. Fix!!” Rogan O’Handley, better known as DC Draino, said.
Central to the Trump-aligned group's campaign is support for President Trump's TrumpRX initiative, which launched on February 5, 2026. Through TrumpRx.gov, “patients will be able to access large discounts on many of the most popular and highest-priced medicines in the country, paying prices in line with the lowest paid by other developed nations (known as the most-favored-nation, or MFN, price),” according to the White House.
The Tennessee 2026 legislative session is expected to adjourn April 24, 2026, leaving just under a month to decide the fate of SB 2040.
