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U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders sets his hands on two chairs as two people set up a board displaying a "price of drugs" chart behind him — politics coverage from STAT — Sen. Bernie Sanders has used his leadership of a Senate committee to pressure drugmakers to lower their prices. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

WASHINGTON — Bernie Sanders is figuring out just how far bullying drugmakers can take him.

For more than a year, Sanders has used his perch atop the Senate health committee to haul the CEOs of pharmaceutical companies that make insulin, vaccines, and more before the panel with progressively more ambitious demands related to their pricing. After a few victories he’s claimed — experts say some credit is deserved, but the full story is a bit more complicated — he’s now progressed to demanding that Novo Nordisk cut its price for its novel, wildly popular diabetes and weight-loss drugs.

Sanders (I-Vt.) is testing the limits of the powers of a Senate chairman with little hope of advancing his policy agenda legislatively. He’s threatened subpoenas, held a prominent nominee hostage, and initiated investigations to get his way. It’s a sharp departure from the modest, bipartisan ambitions that more disciplined, discreet leaders of the committee have taken in years past, and sets the bar for how much can be accomplished using the full extent of the bully pulpit.

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