In a newly filed ethics report, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he plans to keep his financial stake in some pharmaceutical litigation if confirmed as Health and Human Services Secretary.
Kennedy said in the report that he has earned more than $2.4 million referring clients to the law firm WisnerBaum. That firm is suing a drug maker over its HPV vaccine, Gardasil.
Kennedy said he is contracted to receive 10% of contingency fees awarded to the firm.
Ethics records show he intends to keep collecting fees related to past referrals. That could pose an issue because, as head of Health and Human Services, he would be in a position to oversee policies that affect drug makers.
RELATED STORY | Attorney for RFK Jr. petitioned FDA to repeal polio vaccine approval
Kennedy said he is not an attorney of record for the cases and will not provide representational services in connection with cases during his appointment.
Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic, was nominated to be the Trump administration's head of the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the FDA.
In the ethics report, he said that he resigned his positions at Children's Health Defense. The organization has been known to spread misinformation on vaccine safety and has filed lawsuits against the makers of vaccines.
Dozens of Nobel laureates have asked senators to reject Kennedy's nomination based on concerns that Kennedy would “put the public’s health in jeopardy and undermine America’s global leadership in the health sciences.”
RELATED STORY | RFK Jr. poised to help shape health care policy in new Trump administration
In the ethics report, Kennedy revealed that he will continue receiving royalties for his book, "Vax-Un Vax: Let the Science Speak." He also revealed that he was under contract to write three more books but said he would not engage in writing activities while serving as secretary.
Kennedy is scheduled to appear before two Senate committees next week as part of his confirmation hearings.
