RFK Jr.’s Trial Lawyer Ties Raise Red Flags 

COMMENTARY

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary-designate of Health and Human Services, is among President Donald Trump’s myriad unorthodox Cabinet picks to lead federal agencies. While his past science-skeptical positions, including views on vaccinations and fluoride in drinking water, garnered attention from medical professionals, Kennedy’s deep ties to the organized trial bar deserve equal examination. 

As Kennedy faces Senate confirmation hearings, his past financial interests and work for profit-motivated personal injury law firms could impact his leadership and result in a more litigious HHS. 

Kennedy previously was on the payroll of Morgan & Morgan, the nation’s largest personal injury firm, from 2016 to 2022 and remains co-counsel on contingency fee cases. He’s also worked closely with another prominent personal injury firm, Wisner Baum. Kennedy’s partnership with Wisner Baum includes litigation against Monsanto alleging its product, Roundup®, caused users to develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a theory widely rejected by much of the scientific community, as well as litigation against Merck regarding its Gardasil vaccine. He reported $856,559 in income from his work on these and other contingency fee cases with the firm.

Kennedy states he will keep his interest in such cases — a clear conflict of interest given the oversight of the agency he’s tapped to head.

Prior to his work with Morgan & Morgan, he formed Kennedy & Madonna in 2000 with Kevin Madonna, specifically focusing on environmental mass torts. Kennedy reported $8.8 million in earnings from Kennedy & Madonna according to disclosures posted by the Office of Government Ethics. 

Notable work with the firm includes representing Ohio and West Virginia residents in mass tort litigation against DuPont related to chemicals found in drinking water, which later settled. He worked in close conjunction with another high-profile plaintiffs’ attorney on the case, Mike Papantonio. 

Aaron Siri, one of Kennedy’s personal attorneys and, until recently, an adviser to the Trump transition team, is a notorious anti-vaccine trial attorney who’s filed dozens of mass tort suits claiming injuries allegedly related to vaccines.  

Congress delegates the vital responsibility of ensuring the safety of our food, pharmaceuticals and medical products to the FDA, which is housed within HHS.

It is imperative that the benefits and risks of lifesaving medications and products are carefully evaluated by those most qualified within the scientific and medical communities. The process must be carried out by scientific experts and public health officials who must be accountable to the American people — not contingency fee lawyers. 

It is incumbent on all involved in the confirmation process to ensure that, once in office, appointees are not facilitating needless litigation that will serve the special interests of the trial bar rather than scientifically sound public health solutions. The FDA, HHS and all other agencies must not be turned into a trial lawyers’ playground.

The plaintiffs’ bar will carefully monitor agencies’ activities and pounce on any opportunity to file suits over ill-defined terms like “consumer harm.” 

While many Americans view Kennedy as an agent for change, his deep connections to the lawsuit industry, regardless of his political affiliations, demand a thorough examination before the Senate votes to hand him the keys to HHS.  

We strongly urge every senator in Washington to study Kennedy’s legal background to fully grasp the potentially litigious implications of confirming him to this vital role. We must ensure that all future health decisions are made with the best interests of all Americans in mind — not the financial motives of profit-seeking plaintiffs’ lawyers. 

Tiger Joyce is president of the American Tort Reform Association in Washington, D.C. ATRA can be found on X.