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Robert F Kennedy Jr says he will keep his share of any windfall from litigation against pharmaceutical company Merck even if he becomes Donald Trump’s top US health official, ethics records show .

In an ethics agreement published Wednesday, Kennedy said he will keep his share of potential winnings from a lawsuit filed by law firm Wisner Baum against Merck’s Gardasil vaccine, which prevents the human papillomavirus, known as HPV.

“I am entitled to receive 10 percent of the fees awarded in the contingency fee cases directed by the company,” said Kennedy, a co-counsel at Wisner Baum, in a letter to the top ethics tsar of the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Kennedy, a vaccine doubter who Trump chose to be health secretary in November, said he has the right to retain interests in cases that do not involve the US or in which the state does not have a “direct and substantial interest”.

The ethics records were published Wednesday as Mike Crapo, the chairman of the Senate finance committee, announced that Kennedy’s confirmation hearings would be held next Wednesday.

Kennedy, a scion of the famous Democratic political family, stressed that he had no direct role in the Merck case and vowed to avoid doing anything to change the outcome if appointed as secretary of health and human services. .

The first in a series of lawsuits alleging that young people were injured by Merck’s vaccine was heard this week in a Los Angeles court. Kennedy first became involved in the legal effort against Gardasil in 2018.

The former Democrat, who endorsed Trump last year after raising his own independent run for the White House, also said he would resign from his consulting role at Wisner Baum.

In separate financial records filed Wednesday with the United States Office of Government Ethics, Kennedy disclosed $11.6 million in disclosed income over the past two years, including $8.8 million from his work as a environmental attorney at Kennedy & Madonna. He promised to end his tenure with the company.

Kennedy was also paid $856,559 by Wisner Baum during the same period, records show. He also holds small stakes in biotech Crispr Therapeutics and Dragonfly Therapeutics, according to financial disclosures.

The revelations fueled the controversy surrounding Trump’s decision to choose a vocal vaccine that cast doubt and campaign on the management of the US health department – including its 13 divisions and agencies, such as the Food and Drug Administration and National Institutes of Health, which has a lot of influence on the regulation of medicine in the US.

The delay in Kennedy’s congressional hearing, originally planned for this week, was taken by some in his camp as a sign that he may struggle to win approval from the key health and finance committees, whose endorsement he needs before a full vote. in the Senate.

Some senators have raised questions about his record on vaccines and abortion, among other issues.

The litigation against Merck over Gardasil is one of several high-profile anti-vaccine cases Kennedy has been involved in. which was distributed by the end of 2022, according to official statistics. Some high-risk HPV types can cause cervical cancer.

Kennedy did not respond to requests for comment. Merck said: “The plaintiff’s allegations are without merit, and we remain committed to vigorously defending against these claims.”