RFK Jr. says he's resigned from anti-vaccine nonprofit as he seeks nation's top health official job

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be secretary of Health and Human Services, speaks during a meeting with Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is distancing himself from his anti-vaccine work as he seeks to become the leader of the nation’s top health agency under President Donald Trump, according to government ethics documents released Wednesday.

Kennedy has pulled in roughly US$10 million in income from his work over the past year, which includes speaking fees, leading an anti-vaccine nonprofit and legal fees, government ethics forms filed for his nomination show. He has millions of dollars more tied up in investments and other assets.

He has promised to stop collecting payments on some of his vaccine lawsuits involving the U.S. government.

Kennedy is a lawyer who has worked on lawsuits involving environmental and vaccine injury claims against some of the country’s biggest companies. He promised to forgo payment from claims against the U.S. under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation program.

As of December, Kennedy is no longer serving as chairman or chief legal counsel for Children’s Health Defense, his nonprofit that launched lawsuits against the federal government over vaccines, including the authorization of the COVID-19 shot in children. He previously made a $326,000 salary for three months of work at the nonprofit in 2023.

But he will still benefit in other ways from his anti-vaccine advocacy, which has spanned several years. Compensation will continue to flow into Kennedy’s bank accounts from referral fees for legal cases that don’t involve the U.S. government, including fees from a law firm that’s sued Merck over Gardasil, its human papillomavirus vaccine that prevents cervical cancer. Last year, he made over $850,000 from the arrangement.

He will also still collect royalties from books he’s written, some of which have spread falsehoods about vaccine safety and other health issues. Kennedy said he expects at least $2 million in advances for two forthcoming books, though he said he would not promote or do further work on those titles if confirmed.

Despite his criticism of the pharmaceutical industry, Kennedy also holds investments in biotech industries, which he would regulate if confirmed to lead the Health and Human Services Department. Kennedy says he plans to divest as much as $50,000 with Dragonfly Therapeutics, a pharmaceutical company that develops cancer drugs, as well as up to $15,000 he has in CRISPR Therapeutics, a gene-editing technology.

A Senate finance committee hearing for Kennedy is scheduled for later this month. The lawyer-turned-politician was seen around Washington in recent days, joining in on festivities for Trump’s inauguration.

He even hosted his own “Make America Healthy Again” ball on the day Trump was sworn in. “MAHA” has become a popular slogan among Trump and Kennedy loyalists alike.

And that’s another thing Kennedy reports he’s profited from in his ethics filing — MAHA merchandise, which has made him $100,000.

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Michelle R. Smith in Providence, R.I. contributed to this report.

Amanda Seitz, The Associated Press