The Big Story 

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Trump’s nominee for Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary, vowed to keep receiving fees from a law firm if confirmed by the Senate.

© AP

Kennedy released his financial disclosure form Wednesday.

Listed among his investments were assets which Kennedy has already committed to divesting from should he be confirmed as HHS chief.

• These include $15,001-$50,000 in Amazon, an investment in Dragonfly Therapeutics also ranging between $15,001-$50,000 and $1,001-$15,000 in CRISPR Therapeutics.
  
• The Trump nominee wrote in a letter to Randall Hall, the Designated Agency Ethics Official for HHS, that he would divest from those companies among others no later than 90 days after being confirmed. 

But Kennedy will continue to receive fees from a law firm currently suing American pharmaceutical company Merck.

• The prominent anti-vaccine proponent was co-counsel with the law firm Wisner Baum in suing Merck over allegations that Gardasil caused life-altering injury to young men and women.
  
• In his letter to Hall, Kennedy said he was “entitled to receive 10% of fees awarded in contingency fee cases referred to the [Wisner Baum].”
• Among the cases for which Kennedy received fees were those involving claims against the U.S. under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.  

He listed his income from Wisner Baum as $856,559. Before assuming his duties, he will receive “complete and final payments” from the law firm for concluded cases against the U.S.  

“Upon confirmation, I will retain an interest in contingency fee cases that do not involve claims against the United States and in which the United States is not a party and does not have a direct and substantial interest,” Kennedy wrote in his disclosure.  

“I will divest of my interest in contingency fee cases that involve claims against the United States or in which the United States is a party or has a direct and substantial interest.” 

Describing the cases related to his agreement with Wisner Baum, Kennedy wrote, “Fifty of the cases concern claims for damages resulting from the Woolsey fire and three of the cases concern claims for Roundup-induced non-Hodgkins lymphoma.” 

On Wisner Baum’s website, Kennedy is quoted as saying, “Gardasil has left a calamitous health disaster in its wake.”  

The HHS nominee specified that he would “divest my interest to receive payment from all pending contingency fee cases that involve claims against the United States, including any claims filed under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.” 

Gardasil is no longer available in the U.S., replaced by the similar product Gardasil 9. 

Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter, we’re Nathaniel Weixel, Joseph Choi and Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health.

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