RFK Jr. says he'll stop collecting fees from HPV vaccine lawsuit, but other ethics questions remain
WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing intense scrutiny from senators over his potential profit from vaccine lawsuits while serving as the nation's health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that if he is confirmed he will not collect fees from litigation against the drugmakers of a cervical cancer vaccine.
Kennedy, who's President Donald Trump's pick to lead the U.S. Health and Human Services agency, told the Senate finance committee that he would amend his ethics disclosure after several senators, including Democrat Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and his cousin Caroline Kennedy raised concerns about his financial arrangement with the law firm representing patients who are claiming injuries from the vaccines.
'An amendment to my Ethics Agreement is in process, and it provides that I will divest my interest in this litigation,' Kennedy said in a written response to the committee.
Initially, Kennedy had told the committee that he would continue to accept referral fees in legal cases that don't involve the U.S. government. That included an arrangement with a law firm that's sued Merck over Gardasil, its human papillomavirus vaccine that prevents cervical cancer. The deal earned Kennedy $850,000 last year, and he told senators he had referred hundreds of clients to the firm.
During Wednesday's hearing, Warren outlined several ways in which Kennedy could make it easer to sue vaccine manufacturers.
'Kennedy can kill off access to vaccines and make millions of dollars while he does it,' Warren said. 'Kids might die, but Robert Kennedy can keep cashing in.'
The issue also may have been a concern for Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican who is also a physician and is conflicted over his vote on Kennedy's confirmation because of Kennedy's anti-vaccine views.
The Republican president's nominee is 'financially vested in finding fault with vaccines,' Cassidy, the chairman of the health committee, noted as he ended Thursday's confirmation hearing.
Kennedy also stopped short of making other commitments, refusing to promise that he would not engage in lobbying Health and Human Services after his term ends.
Kennedy and his supporters have railed against that sort of activity, saying the 'revolving door' of Washington — where federal officials trade public services jobs to influence government agencies while in the private sector — has undermined the U.S. public health system. He has criticized the practice at least a half-dozen times in social media posts over recent years.
Kennedy, who ran for president last year before dropping his bid and endorsing Trump, vowed in one post on X to 'rein in lobbyists and slam shut the revolving door,' if elected president.
He first challenged President Joe Biden for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination but then ran as an independent before striking a deal to endorse Trump in exchange for a promise to serve in a health policy role during a second Trump administration. Now, after two days of hearings, his shot at that job is on the line with concerns about his anti-vaccine advocacy prompting nearly all Democrats to reject his nomination and a handful of Republicans who are at least considering doing the same.
If Democrats unanimously oppose Kennedy, he'll need support from all but three Republicans. The Senate finance committee is expected to decide if he makes it to the Senate floor for a vote next week.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
26 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Los Angeles imposes downtown curfew as protests against Trump's immigration crackdown continue
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles leaders imposed a downtown curfew through Wednesday morning to deal with protests against President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, while the governor accused him of drawing a 'military dragnet' across the nation's second-largest city with his escalating use of the National Guard. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom asked a court to put an emergency stop to the military helping federal immigration agents, with some guardsmen now standing in protection around agents as they carried out arrests. He said it would only heighten tensions and promote civil unrest. The judge chose not to rule immediately, giving the administration several days to continue those activities before a hearing Thursday. The change moves troops closer to engaging in law enforcement actions like deportations as Trump has promised as part of his administration's immigration crackdown . The Guard has the authority to temporarily detain people who attack officers but any arrests ultimately would be made by law enforcement. Trump has activated more than 4,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines over the objections of city and state leaders, though the Marines have not yet been spotted in Los Angeles and Guard troops have had limited engagement with protesters. They were originally deployed to protect federal buildings. As the curfew went into effect Tuesday night, a police helicopter flew over downtown federal buildings that have been the center of protests and ordered people to leave the area. Riot police on horses and foot surrounded a group of a few hundred that had gathered in the area, shouting: 'Move!' Most of the protesters scattered, with some regrouping and refusing orders to disperse. Officials said the curfew was necessary to stop vandalism and theft by agitators looking to cause trouble. Demonstrations have spread to other cities nationwide, including Dallas and Austin, Texas, Chicago and New York, where a thousand people rallied and multiple arrests were made. In Texas, where police in Austin used chemical irritants to disperse several hundred demonstrators Monday, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's office said Texas National Guard troops were 'on standby' in areas where demonstrations are planned, Abbott spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris said Tuesday evening. Guard members were deployed to San Antonio, according to assistant police chief Jesse Salame. He said he did not know how many were sent or details on the deployment. LA mayor puts curfew in place Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass declared a local emergency on the fifth day of protests and said the curfew will run from 8 p.m. Tuesday until 6 a.m. Wednesday. She said it was expected to last for several days. 'We reached a tipping point' after 23 businesses were looted, Bass said during a news conference Tuesday. The curfew covers a 1 square mile (2.5 square kilometer) section of downtown that includes the area where protests have occurred since Friday. The city of Los Angeles encompasses roughly 500 square miles (nearly 2,300 square kilometers). The curfew doesn't apply to residents who live in the designated area, people who are homeless, credentialed media or public safety and emergency officials, according to Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell. McDonnell said 'unlawful and dangerous behavior' had been escalating since Saturday. 'The curfew is a necessary measure to protect lives and safeguard property following several consecutive days of growing unrest throughout the city,' McDonnell said. Trump says he's open to using Insurrection Act Trump left open the possibility of invoking the Insurrection Act, which authorizes the president to deploy military forces inside the U.S. to suppress rebellion or domestic violence or to enforce the law in certain situations. It's one of the most extreme emergency powers available to a U.S. president. 'If there's an insurrection, I would certainly invoke it. We'll see,' he said from the Oval Office. Later the president called protesters 'animals' and 'a foreign enemy' in a speech at Fort Bragg ostensibly to recognize the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. Trump has described Los Angeles in dire terms that Bass and Newsom say are nowhere close to the truth . In a public address Tuesday evening, Newsom called Trump's actions the start of an 'assault' on democracy. 'California may be first, but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next,' he said. Newsom warned people against inciting violence, but urged them to stand up to the president's actions. 'What Donald Trump wants most is your fealty, your silence. To be complicit in this moment,' he said. 'Do not give it to him.' The protests began Friday after federal immigration raids arrested dozens of workers in Los Angeles. Protesters blocked a major freeway and set cars on fire over the weekend, and police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and flash-bang grenades. The demonstrations have been mostly concentrated downtown in the city of 4 million. Thousands of people have peacefully rallied outside City Hall and hundreds more protested outside a federal complex that includes a detention center where some immigrants are being held following workplace raids. Despite the protests, immigration enforcement activity has continued throughout the county, with city leaders and community groups reporting ICE present at libraries, car washes and Home Depots. School graduations in Los Angeles have increased security over fears of ICE action and some have offered parents the option to watch on Zoom. McDonnell said that police had made 197 arrests on Tuesday, including 67 who were taken into custody for unlawfully occupying part of the 101 freeway. Several businesses were broken into Monday, though authorities didn't say if the looting was tied to the protests. The vast majority of arrests have been for failing to disperse, while a few others were for assault with a deadly weapon, looting, vandalism and attempted murder for tossing a Molotov cocktail. Seven police officers were reportedly injured, and at least two were taken to a hospital and released. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suggested Tuesday that the use of troops inside the U.S. will continue to expand . The Pentagon said deploying the National Guard and Marines costs $134 million. ___ Baldor and Copp reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Dorany Pineda and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles, Amy Taxin in Orange County, California, John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, Jim Vertuno in Austin, Texas, Hallie Golden in Seattle, and Greg Bull in Seal Beach, California, contributed to this report. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Newsom Warns ‘Other States Are Next' in Speech Against Trump
California Gov. Gavin Newsom delivers an address on June 10, 2025. Credit - Office of the California Governor via AP 'What's happening right now is very different than anything we've seen before,' Gavin Newsom, the Governor of California, said in a speech Tuesday night that was seemingly addressed as much to his own state's residents as to the nation. 'This isn't just about protests here in Los Angeles. When Donald Trump sought blanket authority to commandeer the National Guard, he made that order apply to every state in this nation,' Newsom said amid days of unrest in southern California after the President mobilized troops to quell violence and vandalism that had broken out during demonstrations against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids—an escalation Newsom called a 'brazen abuse of power' that 'inflamed a combustible situation.' 'This is about all of us. This is about you,' Newsom said. 'California may be first, but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next. Democracy is next.' Newsom lambasted Trump, calling him a President who 'wants to be bound by no law or constitution, perpetuating a unified assault on American traditions.' And he repeated his assertion that Trump was 'fanning the flames' in Los Angeles 'on purpose.' Newsom claimed that California could have managed the criminal behavior on its streets with its own law enforcement. 'The situation was winding down and was concentrated in just a few square blocks downtown,' Newsom said. 'But that—that's not what Donald Trump wanted. He again chose escalation. He chose more force. He chose theatrics over public safety.' Newsom said the deployment of National Guard and Marine forces was done 'illegally and for no reason' and pointed to a legal challenge filed by the state against the Trump Administration. 'These are the men and women trained for foreign combat, not domestic law enforcement. We honor their service, we honor their bravery, but we do not want our streets militarized by our own armed forces—not in L.A., not in California, not anywhere.' Newsom, whose second and final term ends in 2027 and is considered to be a potential Democratic presidential candidate in 2028, focused much of his less-than-10-minute speech on pushing back against Trump's mass deportation effort, which the California Governor linked to a broader slide toward authoritarianism. 'California is no stranger to immigration enforcement, but instead of focusing on undocumented immigrants with serious criminal records and people with final deportation orders, a strategy both parties have long supported, this Administration is pushing mass deportations, indiscriminately targeting hard working immigrant families regardless of their roots or risk,' Newsom said. He spoke of the fear undocumented residents feel, saying that the Trump Administration is 'pulling a military dragnet' across Los Angeles. 'We're seeing unmarked cars in school parking lots, kids afraid of attending their own graduation. … His agents are arresting dishwashers, gardeners, day laborers, and seamstresses. That's just weakness, weakness masquerading as strength. Donald Trump's government isn't protecting our communities. They're traumatizing our communities. And that seems to be the entire point.' 'If some of us could be snatched off the streets without a warrant, based only on suspicion or skin color, then none of us are safe,' Newsom added. 'Authoritarian regimes begin by targeting people who are least able to defend themselves, but they do not stop there. Trump and his loyalists—they thrive on division because it allows them to take more power and exert even more control.' The 57-year-old Democrat who has been criticized by some for earlier this year appearing to take a more moderate tack as his national ambitions grow also outlined a list of criticisms of Trump that extend beyond immigration, including the firing of government watchdogs; attacking news organizations, universities, law firms, and the judicial branch; and holding a military parade on Saturday, 'forcing them to put on a vulgar display to celebrate his birthday, just as other failed dictators have done in the past.' 'Democracy is under assault before our eyes,' Newsom said, charging Trump with taking 'a wrecking ball' to the principle of three co-equal branches of government. 'There are no longer any checks and balances. Congress is nowhere to be found. Speaker Johnson has completely abdicated that responsibility. The Rule of Law has increasingly been giving way to the Rule of Don.' Trump, who has nicknamed Newsom 'Newscum' on social media and called for the Governor to be arrested earlier this week, did not immediately respond to Newsom's remarks on Tuesday night. Newsom ended the speech with a call to action. 'The Founding Fathers—they didn't live and die to see this kind of moment. It's time for all of us to stand up,' he said. 'If you exercise your First Amendment rights, please, please do it peacefully. I know many of you are feeling deep anxiety, stress, and fear, but I want you to know that you are the antidote to that fear and that anxiety. What Donald Trump wants most is your fealty, your silence, to be complicit in this moment. Do not give in to him.' Contact us at letters@
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump's Threats Against Musk and Newsom Reflect an Authoritarian Intolerance of Dissent
On Monday, President Donald Trump endorsed the arrest of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who irked him by criticizing his militarized response to Los Angeles protests against his administration's immigration raids. Just four days earlier, Trump had suggested that billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, his former ally, could lose his government contracts for going public with concerns about the president's fiscal recklessness. It's not clear whether Trump was serious in either case, whether he intends to follow through on his threats, or exactly how that would work. But the authoritarian intolerance of dissent reflected in those comments is consistent with the various ways Trump already has used the powers of his office to punish people whose views offend him. Over the weekend, Trump deployed 2,000 members of California's National Guard to protect federal personnel and property, invoking a law that authorizes such action when "there is a rebellion or danger of a rebellion" against the U.S. government's authority. That unilateral step, Newsom argued, was unnecessary, provocative, and illegal because local and state law enforcement agencies were willing and able to maintain order without federal intervention. This was the context in which a reporter asked Trump whether Newsom should be arrested, noting that border czar Tom Homan had threatened that consequence for "anybody," including Newsom, who interferes with the immigration crackdown. "I would do it if I were Tom," Trump replied. "Gavin likes the publicity, but I think it would be a great thing." Maybe Trump was joking. Maybe he also was joking when he argued, during the public flap that Musk provoked by slamming a Trump-backed bill as a "disgusting abomination" that would add trillions to the national debt, that "the easiest way to save money in our Budget" would be to "terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts." Then again, maybe not. No such excuse is available for Trump's plainly serious crusades against foreign students, lawyers, universities, and new outlets he portrays as enemies of democracy and American values. By deporting students who criticize the Israeli government, Trump says, he is fighting antisemitism and protecting U.S. foreign policy interests. The goal, he explains, is to make students think twice before they open their mouths. "Any student that protests," Trump said during his 2024 campaign, "I throw them out of the country. You know, there are a lot of foreign students. As soon as they hear that, they're going to behave." To justify his executive orders against disfavored law firms—which aimed to ruin them by revoking their security clearances, restricting their access to federal officials and buildings, canceling their government contracts, and threatening other contractors with ties to them—Trump likewise cited their support for causes and clients he abhors. Federal judges therefore had no difficulty concluding that the orders violated the First Amendment. Trump's conflict with Harvard, framed as an attempt to enforce federal civil rights laws, extends far beyond that goal. The administration has said the university cannot regain access to federal research grants unless it surrenders academic freedom by implementing a litany of hiring, admission, administrative, curricular, and disciplinary reforms. Trump is still pursuing his legal vendetta against CBS News, which he absurdly claims committed consumer fraud by editing a pre-election 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris in a way that made her seem slightly more cogent. In February, he upped the ante by raising his already risible estimate of the damages inflicted by that interview from $10 billion to $20 billion. Trump's beef with CBS is not limited to his abuse of the legal process as a private litigant. Brendan Carr, the Trump-appointed chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, reopened an equally groundless investigation of the network for "broadcast news distortion" based on the same interview—a probe that entails second-guessing journalistic judgments protected by freedom of the press. Given this track record, it may not be safe to assume that Trump is only kidding when he threatens government retaliation for constitutionally protected speech. © Copyright 2025 by Creators Syndicate Inc. The post Trump's Threats Against Musk and Newsom Reflect an Authoritarian Intolerance of Dissent appeared first on
