Kennedy's vaccine-injury litigation ties and the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program overhaul (2025–2026)

Case

Democratic senators allege that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s past referral fees, his family's stake in Gardasil litigation, and his advisers' vaccine-court practices create conflicts of interest as HHS works to overhaul the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP). Merck agreed in June 2026 to pay about $50 million to settle 200-plus Gardasil suits, and senators asked in July whether Kennedy's son stands to benefit. Their questions, due Feb. 10 and Aug. 11, 2026, have no public HHS answer yet.

Kennedy's own ties (as alleged and reported)
Documented (per the letter, citing Axios, NPR and NYT reporting): before his confirmation Kennedy made millions of dollars referring hundreds of cases to the injury firm Wisner Baum, and he retained a 10 percent stake in successful payouts to clients he referred in the firm's civil suit against Merck over the HPV vaccine Gardasil. After pushback he agreed to divest; legal observers cited in the letter said he did so by passing the stake to his son.
Claimed (by the four senators): Kennedy has not recused himself from VICP-related work or from HHS, CDC and FDA communications on Gardasil, while Wisner Baum is seeking awards in VICP in more than a dozen lawsuits. The letter says a Wisner Baum lawyer was attorney of record for at least 41 HPV cases before VICP in 2024 and 19 in 2025, a figure the letter attributes to data on file with Sen. Warren's office.
Documented: the senators asked Kennedy to commit to not accepting compensation from lawsuits against drug companies during his time as Secretary and for four years afterward; the letter says he had refused to make that commitment at his confirmation.

Advisers and contracts
Documented (per the letter): in June 2025 Kennedy said he had charged HHS senior adviser Drew Downing, a longtime vaccine-injury lawyer, with 'revolutionizing' VICP. The letter says Downing was attorney of record for at least 60 VICP clients in 2024 and that Siri Glimstad has since taken on at least 54 of his former VICP cases; it also says special masters once found his fee billing 'duplicative' and 'excessive' in a June 25, 2025 interim fees decision.
Claimed (letter citing USAspending; not independently verified here): HHS awarded a contract to Brueckner Spitler Shelts PLC, a firm where Downing is listed as a partner, for legal advice on VICP, with the award raised from $150,000 in June 2025 to $250,000 in August and about $400,000 in September. The senators asked why the firm was chosen and why the award grew.
Claimed (by the senators, citing the New York Times): Aaron Siri, an attorney and Kennedy campaign adviser whose firm Siri Glimstad had at least 190 VICP cases in 2024 and 146 in 2025 (letter's figures, from data on file), has pushed to end the liability shield for vaccine makers, and the firm appears to have vetted appointees to HHS vaccine committees. This connection is an allegation of overlapping interests, not a finding of wrongdoing.

The VICP overhaul and the senators' demands
Documented: Kennedy announced on July 28, 2025 that he was working with the Department of Justice and Attorney General Bondi to 'fix' the vaccine court, and in January 2026 HHS fired at least half of the members of the Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines, which advises on VICP, per the senators' letter and press release.
Claimed (changes the letter says are reported or under consideration, not enacted): adding conditions not tied to vaccines, including autism, to the injury table; removing vaccines from VICP's jurisdiction and its liability shield; and directing government lawyers to concede claims. Experts quoted in the letter warn these could swamp VICP with claims and push manufacturers out of the market.
Documented: the senators asked HHS to commit to a full public notice-and-comment process, which the letter says federal law requires (180 days for comments plus an oral hearing) for changes to the injury table, and asked for answers by Feb. 10, 2026. No HHS or DOJ response has been located yet.

Merck Gardasil settlement (June 2026)
Documented (per the senators' letter, citing Bloomberg): on June 4, 2026, Merck announced it would pay about $50 million to settle more than 200 Gardasil lawsuits. The letter says the settlement includes suits in which Kennedy was attorney of record and cases handled by his former firm Wisner Baum, where one of his sons now works as an associate attorney.
Claimed (by the four senators, July 28, 2026): Kennedy's son could stand to gain millions from the settlement because of the stake Kennedy transferred to him in 2025. The letter does not say any payment has been made; it asks whether the son has received or is slated to receive Kennedy's former share and how much.
Documented (per the letter): Kennedy has not disclosed which settled Gardasil cases he referred to Wisner Baum, did not commit to recuse himself from HHS, CDC and FDA communications on Gardasil, and did not commit to refusing compensation from drug-company lawsuits for four years after leaving office. The letter also says that, per court records cited by the AP, about 70% of the Gardasil cases against Merck began as claims filed by Drew Downing at VICP, and describes Downing's firm's $400,000 contract as sole-source.
Documented: the senators asked HHS to answer 21 questions by Aug. 11, 2026, including whether HHS officials communicated with Merck or Wisner Baum about Gardasil litigation. No HHS response to this letter or the January letter has been found in searches of the outlets GREED indexes as of Oct. 16, 2026.

Note
The conflicts are allegations in letters from Democratic senators; HHS has not publicly answered, and the proposed VICP changes are described as reported or under consideration, not enacted.

Sources
[1] Sen. Warren, Blumenthal, Markey, Alsobrooks letter to HHS Sec. Kennedy (cc: AG Bondi) (https://www.warren.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/media/doc/warren_lawmakers_letter_to_rfk_jr_on_conflicts_revaccineinjurycompensationprogram.pdf) · 2026-01-27
[2] Sen. Warren press release (https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warren-blumenthal-markey-alsobrooks-press-rfk-jr-on-dangerous-backdoor-overhaul-of-vaccine-court-that-could-potentially-enrich-allies-harm-public-health) · 2026-01-28
[3] Sens. Warren, Blumenthal, Alsobrooks, Kim letter to HHS Sec. Kennedy on Merck settlement (https://www.warren.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Letter-to-HHS-on-Merck-Settlement.pdf) · 2026-07-28

Connections

Same actor — Kennedy's firing of all 17 ACIP members and the White House's role
Both involve Kennedy and attorney Aaron Siri, whom senators allege shaped both the ACIP overhaul and the push to change the vaccine injury program.

Same actor — RFK Jr.'s false and misleading health claims as HHS Secretary
Both concern HHS Secretary Kennedy's vaccine policy: one documents his public claims, the other the financial ties senators say surround the vaccine-court changes he is pursuing.