Washington DC - Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. received roughly $4 million over the last year in book advances from allies within the MAHA movement, a new report alleges.
A recent New York Times investigation unveiled that RFK Jr. accepted $4 million in book advances and at least $270,000 worth of gifts since he entered office in 2025. Most were from supporters of his Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda.
According to ethics experts interviewed by the Times, the money may violate federal anti-corruption rules that ban a government official from personally profiting from their position.
The advances in question were for two books to be published by Skyhorse Publishing, whose owner Tony Lyons is linked to companies that accept political contributions and sponsorships from organizations that are directly impacted by RFK Jr.'s decisions.
Experts suggest that a book titled "Unsettled Science" may have seen the secretary receive compensation from a non-government source for the writing of a book related to his position in the HHS. Such a payment is explicitly banned.
RFK Jr.'s wife, actress Cheryl Hines, also accepted roughly $210,000 in consulting fees from MAHA Action, a nonprofit led by Lyons. These fees are also dubious, the NYT reports.
According to Richard Painter, a former White House ethics counsel under President George W. Bush, Hines' conduct "reeks of conflict of interest." He said the situation "just looks horrible."
HHS spokesperson Emily Hilliard denied all allegations contained within the NYT in a statement, declaring that RFK Jr.'s conduct "complies with all applicable federal ethics laws, regulations and financial disclosure requirements."
"The secretary works with HHS career ethics officials to ensure that his financial interests, gifts, outside activities and other reportable matters are appropriately disclosed and handled consistent with those requirements."