A group of Senate Democrats has raised questions about whether Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s family stands to benefit from a legal settlement involving the Gardasil vaccine.

In a letter sent Tuesday, Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Angela Alsobrooks (Md.), Richard Blumenthal (Conn.), and Andy Kim (N.J.) focused on a $50 million settlement reached by pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. over litigation concerning its Gardasil vaccine.

Prior to his role at HHS, Kennedy worked as a vaccine injury attorney and was listed as an attorney of record in some cases related to Gardasil. During his confirmation hearing, the Office of Government Ethics highlighted that Kennedy could profit from potential Merck settlements while overseeing federal vaccine policy, presenting a conflict of interest.

Kennedy initially planned to retain a "10 percent fee from settlements tied to cases he referred to Wisner Baum for the Gardasil lawsuit," according to a press release about the Senate Democrats' letter. This plan was described by lawmakers as "alarming," prompting Kennedy to change his approach to divestment. He detailed in an ethics agreement amendment that he would divest his interests to the law firm Wisner Baum, with any proceeds designated for his "non-dependent adult son."

Senator Warren warned in a letter during Kennedy's nomination process that the situation "presented an egregious conflict of interest" and called his divestment "plainly inadequate."

Brent Wisner, managing partner of Wisner Baum, stated in an email that "at no time" will Kennedy or his son receive fees from a Gardasil settlement, according to Reuters.

Sources