WASHINGTON, D.C. — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. disclosed more than $4 million in book advances and roughly $270,000 in gifts from longtime allies, financial relationships that are drawing scrutiny because several benefactors are also involved in the Make America Healthy Again movement.
The largest payments were two $2 million advances from Skyhorse Publishing for Unsettled Science and A Defense for Israel. Skyhorse owner Tony Lyons is a longtime Kennedy associate who also leads organizations promoting MAHA-related causes and accepting political contributions and corporate sponsorships.
Kennedy also disclosed about $126,000 in Washington lodging and nearly $150,000 in airfare provided by security consultant Gavin de Becker, including trips to Greece and Fiji. De Becker has been a major Kennedy political donor and described the gifts as part of their longstanding friendship.
The book payments raise a specific ethics question because federal rules generally prohibit government employees from receiving compensation for writing related to their official duties when that writing occurs during government service. Whether Kennedy’s advances violate those rules would depend on when the writing was performed and whether the books relate to his HHS responsibilities.
Kennedy’s representatives say he has complied with federal ethics requirements and worked with HHS ethics officials on his disclosures. No violation has been formally established.
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