RFK Jr. reveals deviation from ethics agreement to Warren and lawmakers

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faces intense congressional scrutiny after revealing he secretly deviated from his ethics agreement. Instead of transferring his 10% contingency stake in Gardasil vaccine lawsuits to his adult son, Kennedy returned the rights to his former law firm, Wisner Baum, on February 11, 2025, without notifying Congress before his confirmation. Senators Elizabeth Warren and colleagues demand answers, citing potential conflicts of interest following a $50 million settlement with Merck.

Ethics agreement compliance

• ▪U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. deviated from his February 1, 2025 ethics agreement by transferring his 10 percent Gardasil lawsuit contingency fee rights back to Wisner Baum instead of his adult son.
• ▪The Department of Health and Human Services Designated Agency Ethics Official affirmed to Senate committees on May 14, 2025, that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was in compliance with his amended February 1, 2025 ethics agreement

Congressional scrutiny over disclosure failure

• ▪Robert F. Kennedy Jr. signed an ethics compliance certification on May 12, 2025, that made no mention of his February 11, 2025 change in the divestiture of his Gardasil lawsuit stake.
• ▪Robert F. Kennedy Jr. transferred his Gardasil lawsuit stake back to Wisner Baum on February 11, 2025, but did not notify Congress or update his public ethics agreement before his February 13, 2025 Senate confirmation.
• ▪Senators Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal, Angela Alsobrooks, and Ron Wyden pressed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for answers, calling his failure to disclose the ethics agreement change to Congress deeply alarming.

Gardasil lawsuit settlement and fees

• ▪Merck & Co. agreed to settle the bulk of the Gardasil HPV vaccine lawsuits in June 2026 for an amount reported by Bloomberg to be approximately $50 million.
• ▪The law firm Wisner Baum stated that neither Robert F. Kennedy Jr. nor anyone in his family has received any fees recovered from the $50 million Gardasil vaccine settlement with Merck
• ▪Robert F. Kennedy Jr. initially planned to retain a 10 percent contingency fee in the Gardasil lawsuits against Merck & Co. over its HPV vaccine, having previously received $856,559 from Wisner Baum

Financial ties and promotion of Skyhorse Publishing

• ▪Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reported receiving two book advances of $2 million each from Skyhorse Publishing in a financial disclosure signed by a Health and Human Services ethics official on September 17, 2026.
• ▪Skyhorse Publishing paid Robert F. Kennedy Jr. $451,000 in consulting fees in the year before he became Health and Human Services Secretary.
• ▪Robert F. Kennedy Jr. promoted his 2021 book, The Real Anthony Fauci, criticizing Dr. Anthony Fauci on X in July 2026, despite his ethics agreement with HHS prohibiting writing, editing, or promotional activities with Skyhorse Publishing books

Gifts from Gavin de Becker

• ▪Gavin de Becker stated that the travel and lodging gifts to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. were based on a long-standing personal friendship and began years before Kennedy joined the Department of Health and Human Services.
• ▪Robert F. Kennedy Jr. accepted free flights to Fiji and Greece and the use of a Washington, D.C. vacation home, totaling over a quarter of a million dollars, from celebrity security adviser Gavin de Becker.

Relationship with Children's Health Defense

• ▪Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivered a keynote address on September 17, 2026, at a Washington, D.C. conference for Children's Health Defense, an anti-vaccine group he co-founded.
• ▪Children's Health Defense paid Robert F. Kennedy Jr. $326,056 in salary and bonuses in the year before he stepped down to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

Debatable claims

• ▪Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s keynote address to Children's Health Defense is inappropriate for an HHS Secretary
• ▪Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s lawsuit stake transfer to Wisner Baum is a conflict of interest
• ▪Robert F. Kennedy Jr. should disclose the terms of his agreement with Wisner Baum