Kennedy Reveals Key Decisions in Ethics Report as Confirmation Hearing Looms

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Key Takeaways

Kennedy's financial interests in vaccine lawsuits, especially against Merck, could pose conflicts of interest in his confirmation as Secretary of HHS.
He has resigned from his anti-vaccine nonprofit and pledged to stop collecting fees from government-involved vaccine lawsuits.
Kennedy plans to retain his stake in a lawsuit against Merck's Gardasil vaccine, raising ethical concerns.
He has agreed to terminate agreements with Morgan & Morgan and divest from certain companies to mitigate potential conflicts.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the nominee for secretary of HHS, has made promises about the status of his stake in antivaccine nonprofits and legal action against pharma companies as his confirmation hearing approaches.

The confirmation hearing for Robert F. Kennedy Jr to become secretary of HHS is scheduled to take place on January 29, and Kennedy has started revealing what major investments he plans on continuing to hold through his proposed appointment. These decisions could affect the willingness of the Senate to confirm his appointment next week.

Kennedy has been noted for his vaccine skepticism in the lead up to the confirmation hearing.¹ This includes leading an antivaccine nonprofit and working on lawsuits that involved vaccine injury claims.² Kennedy had resigned from being the chairman and chief legal counsel for his nonprofit organization that launched lawsuits against vaccines. The lawsuits made him approximately $326,000 in 2023.

The ethics report released by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr poses questions about his conflicts of interest | Image credit: Katherine Welles - stock.adobe.com

However, on January 22, Kennedy claimed in his government ethics report that he would stop collecting fees on the vaccine lawsuits that he worked on that involved the government of the US in any way. This also includes no longer collecting payments from claims that involved the National Vaccine Injury Compensation program.

Although he is planning to divest his earnings from his previous lawsuits, Kennedy has also promised to keep his stake in a lawsuit about the Gardasil vaccine, a vaccine given to children and manufactured by Merck. The vaccine in question is a preventive vaccine for human papillomavirus, which can prevent cervical cancer in women and throat cancers in men. Previous studies have found that it is effective in preventing invasive cervical cancer in women aged 13 years and older.³ Kennedy would be entitled to 10% of the fees awarded,⁴ with his previous work with the law firm, Wisner Baum, earning him more than $2.5 million in the previous 2 years.

Kennedy plans on retaining all stake in lawsuits that he claims do not involve the federal government in any way. However, the stake in a lawsuit against Merck could pose a massive conflict of interest, according to ethics experts and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).³ It could affect the ways in which Kennedy approaches the pharma company, as Kennedy stands to profit off of lawsuits against it.

The ethics report also revealed that Kennedy has worked with Morgan & Morgan, which has recently sued food manufacturers regarding advertising food products with addictive substances. However, Kennedy has agreed to terminate the agreement with Morgan & Morgan upon confirmation and has no involvement in the lawsuits. Kennedy also has agreed to end his consulting agreements with several book publishers and divest interests in notable companies and 2 biotech firms.

It is unclear how the Senate will approach the confirmation hearing on January 29. The Senate will likely ask questions about Kennedy’s financial interests in lawsuits against Merck and his previous affiliations with antivaccine organizations. Monitoring these relationships could be valuable should Kennedy receive confirmation to the appointment of secretary of HHS from the Senate next week.

References

Grossi G. 5 health policy stances of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. AJMC^®. November 15, 2024. Accessed January 23, 2025. https://www.ajmc.com/view/5-health-policy-stances-of-robert-f-kennedy-jr
Seitz A. RFK Jr says he’s resigned from anti-vaccine nonprofit as he seeks nation’s top health official job. AP News. January 22, 2025. Accessed January 23, 2025. https://apnews.com/article/rfk-money-vaccines-salary-trump-cfd26a0d9e88e901b596f823a6f766f2
Jewett C, Stolberg SG. Kennedy would keep stake in HPV vaccine suit if confirmed. New York Times. January 22, 2025. Accessed January 23, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/22/us/politics/rfk-hpv-vaccine-merck.html
Palmer TJ, Kavanagh K, Cuschieri K, et al. Invasive cervical cancer incidence following bivalent human papillomavirus vaccination: a population-based observational study of age at immunization, dose, and deprivation. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2024;116(6):857-865. doi:10.1093/jnci/djad263