After a bruising round of confirmation hearings this week that left Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s affirmation unsure, the nominee for secretary of the Division of Well being and Human Providers declared in a written assertion to senators on Friday that, if confirmed, he’ll divest his monetary stake in an ongoing civil lawsuit in opposition to a vaccine producer.
Kennedy’s dedication to stroll away from the potential windfall is a significant reversal for the nominee, who in his ethics plan submitted to federal officers earlier this month instructed lawmakers he was entitled to these proceeds as long as the U.S. authorities wasn’t concerned.
Democrats had seized on Kennedy’s financial stake in the lawsuit, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., warning that he might use his perch in authorities to make it simpler for legal professionals – together with himself – to sue vaccine producers and drug makers in court docket.
The lawsuit alleges advertising and marketing fraud in opposition to pharmaceutical firm Merck for its HPV vaccine, Gardasil, which Merck denies. The Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC) maintains that the vaccine has been confirmed secure, with more than 160 studies finding no concerns.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., President Trump’s nominee to function Secretary of Well being and Human Providers testifies throughout a Senate Committee on Well being, Training, Labor and Pensions listening to for his pending affirmation, Jan. 30, 2025, in Washington.
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“Kennedy can kill off entry to vaccines and make hundreds of thousands of {dollars} whereas he does it,” Warren mentioned at Kennedy’s affirmation listening to on Wednesday.
“Children would possibly die, however Robert Kennedy will maintain cashing in,” she added.
Kennedy struggled to lock-up conservative help for his nomination after testifying this week. On Wednesday, the Wall Avenue Journal’s right-leaning editorial board praised Warren, writing that her questioning “expose[d]” Kennedy.
The following day, Republican Sen. Invoice Cassidy mentioned he was “struggling” with Kennedy’s nomination, noting at one level that Kennedy was “financially vested find fault with vaccines.”
Kennedy instructed senators in his testimony Thursday that he was making a gift of his rights to the charges within the lawsuit in opposition to Merck. Nonetheless, it was unclear whether or not he misspoke as a result of his ethics settlement nonetheless maintained that he was entitled to the charges.
In written solutions offered to the Senate Finance Committee on Friday, Kennedy clarified that an modification was forthcoming.
“An modification to my Ethics Settlement is in course of, and it supplies that I’ll divest my curiosity on this litigation,” he mentioned.
Kennedy has earned hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in referral charges from legislation companies previously for lawsuits unrelated to vaccines, together with one involving a pesticide. He had not earned cash but from the Merck case, which solely just lately was taken up in civil courts.
In his testimony, Kennedy mentioned he needed to retain the fitting to sue drug corporations even when confirmed.
“You’re asking me to not sue drug corporations, and I’m not going to comply with that,” he mentioned.
