A Tuesday morning hearing dedicated to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s proposed 2026 budget led Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) to question his stances on two Trump appointees at the agency with apparent conflicts of interest.
One appointee, a former HHS DOGE staffer named Brad Smith, now runs a for-profit medical company. The other, Calley Means, is still in the Trump administration. Prior to that, he co-founded a company that sells medical equipment that can be bought with pretax dollars.
About halfway through the hearing, Ocasio-Cortez asked Kennedy what proper ethical conduct looks like for a public servant.
Kennedy assured her that, as is legally required, he’s completely divested from what might be considered financial conflicts of interest, other than crypto.
“I own bitcoin,” he acknowledged. Asked if he has any other assets, Kennedy said he went through the process with the Office of Government Ethics to review a few “very minor” interests.
