Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald J. Trump’s nominee for Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, has pledged not to accept any money from the health secretary for several years after he leaves office. During a Senate confirmation hearing, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) asked Kennedy, the nephew of President John F. Kennedy, “Will you commit that when you leave this job, you will not accept compensation from a drug company, a medical device company, a hospital system, or a health insurer for at least four years, including as a lobbyist or a board member?”
Kennedy, amused, asked Warren to repeat the last part of the question, with Warren restating it as, “You’re not going to take money from drug companies in any way, shape, or form?”
“Who, me?” Kennedy laughed. “Oh, yeah, I’m happy to commit to that.”
“Good, that’s what I figured,” said Warren.
While Kennedy is a longtime critic of Big Pharma, companies producing unnatural food additives, and other organizations he sees as undermining American health, there have long been issues with “regulatory capture” in government—that is, public officials tasked with regulating the food and drug industries transitioning to lucrative jobs working for the companies they were supposed to be monitoring.
It has been reported that nine-tenths of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioners from 2006 to 2019 went from the FDA to executive positions working for pharmaceutical firms after leaving office, for instance.
QUESTION: “Will you commit that when you leave this job, you will not accept compensation from a drug company, a medical device company, a hospital system, or a health insurer for at least four years?”
RFK, JR.: “I’m happy to commit to that.” pic.twitter.com/Q87KTENOqk
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 29, 2025