*

Senators Wyden and Warren demand Kennedy recuse himself

from

vaccine-related matters

*

Kennedy's financial ties to Wisner Baum law firm under

scrutiny

*

Kennedy refuses to recuse himself from Gardasil-related

HHS

matters

By Stephanie Kelly

NEW YORK, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Two U.S. senators who will

vote this week on whether to advance Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s

nomination as the top U.S. health official demanded on Monday

that he recuse himself from all agency matters related to

vaccines, arguing that President Donald Trump's pick holds

unscientific views about their safety and stands poised to

benefit financially from such decisions.

Senator Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance

Committee, and Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren also asked

that Kennedy, who is Republican Trump's choice to lead the

Department of Health and Human Services, pledge not to engage in

lawsuits involving vaccines for at least four years after

leaving office.

Kennedy, a 70-year-old environmental activist who has spread

misinformation on vaccines, was questioned last week by both

Republican and Democratic senators on the Senate's Finance and

Health committees. The Finance Committee will vote this week on

whether to push Kennedy's nomination to a full Senate vote.

Groups that oppose Kennedy's confirmation see a handful of

Republican senators as potential swing votes against Kennedy,

including Senator Bill Cassidy and Senator Mitch McConnell.

If confirmed, Kennedy would run HHS, which oversees more

than $3 trillion in healthcare spending, including at the Food

and Drug Administration and the agency in charge of the Medicare

and Medicaid health insurance programs covering nearly half of

all Americans.

Kennedy has faced scrutiny during his nomination over his

ties to Los Angeles-based law firm Wisner Baum, which

specializes in pharmaceutical drug injury cases.

He has an arrangement to earn 10% of fees awarded in

contingency cases he refers to the firm, according to a letter

Kennedy wrote to an HHS ethics official released in January. In

that letter Kennedy wrote that if confirmed he would retain that

financial interest in cases that do not directly impact the U.S.

government.

After his confirmation hearings last week, Kennedy sent a

supplemental letter, dated Feb. 1, to HHS, writing that he will

assign his right to receive payment from cases not directly

impacting the U.S. government to a non-dependent, adult family

member.

He excluded payment from claims against Southern California

Edison, Boeing ( BA ) and Pacific Gas and Electric Corporation

for damages resulting from previous California

wildfires.

"The arrangement outlined in your Ethics Agreement Amendment

is plainly inadequate, as it would appear to allow an immediate

family member to benefit financially from your position as

Secretary," Wyden and Warren wrote in their letter to Kennedy.

"It seems possible that many different types of

vaccine-related decisions and communications - which you would

be empowered to make and influence as Secretary - could result

in significant financial compensation for your family," they

wrote.

Wyden and Warren added that they do no trust Kennedy's

disclosures to the Finance Committee, as they said Kennedy has

failed to disclose the "hundreds of cases" he has referred to

Wisner Baum to which the 10% referral fee agreement applies and

has failed to provide clarity about which vaccines were involved

in those cases.

"During the course of my work with Wisner Baum, I referred

many hundreds of cases to the firm," Kennedy wrote in response

to questions from the Finance Committee after his confirmation

hearing. "It is impossible to provide the information requested,

much of which I do not personally have, with respect to each

such case in the time allotted for my response."

Reuters exclusively reported in January that Kennedy played

an instrumental role in organizing mass litigation against Merck ( MRK )

over its human papillomavirus shot Gardasil.

In his additional responses to the Finance Committee,

Kennedy wrote he would not commit to recuse himself from various

HHS matters related to the Gardasil vaccine, including public

statements related to Gardasil.

Kennedy, who founded the anti-vaccine group Children's

Health Defense, argues that he is not against vaccines. The

group has sued in state and federal courts over vaccines.

Senator Cassidy, a key Republican senator on the Finance

Committee, told Kennedy last week that he was struggling with

the nomination, saying he had reservations about Kennedy's

"misleading arguments" on vaccines.

If Kennedy's nomination goes to the full Senate, he would

need the support of at least 50 senators, which would allow Vice

President JD Vance to cast another tie-breaking vote to confirm

his nomination.