A group of Senate Democrats is raising new questions about HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s financial conflicts tied to Gardasil litigation against Merck.
Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., sent a follow-up letter Aug. 24 to Mr. Kennedy, questioning whether he altered his ethics agreement regarding a $50 million Gardasil settlement with Merck.
Before joining HHS, Mr. Kennedy helped lead litigation against Merck over its HPV vaccine Gardasil and initially retained a 10% contingency fee tied to cases referred to his former law firm, Wisner Baum. After Ms. Warren raised conflict-of-interest concerns, Mr. Kennedy amended his ethics agreement to assign that stake to his adult son and certified he had completed all required divestitures during his confirmation process.
Merck announced in June it would pay $50 million to settle more than 200 Gardasil lawsuits, including cases where Mr. Kennedy was listed as attorney of record. Following the settlement, Ms. Warren, Mr. Blumenthal, Ms. Alsobrooks and Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., opened an investigation into whether Mr. Kennedy’s family stands to benefit financially.
Mr. Kennedy subsequently posted on X that he had relinquished his Gardasil interest to Wisner Baum before taking office, rather than to his son — a claim the senators say contradicts his sworn ethics filings. “Your recent public statement appears to indicate that the information you provided to the Committee and the Office of Government Ethics is no longer accurate,” the senators wrote.
The senators said a review of Mr. Kennedy’s public financial disclosures found no record of any amendment reflecting the new account, and they are demanding clarification on the disposition of his litigation stake.
Becker’s has reached out to HHS for comment and will update this article if more information becomes available.
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