Mary Trump Says Officials Shouldn't Earn Outside Income, Citing RFK Jr. Filing

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s latest annual financial disclosure shows $4 million in book advances from Skyhorse Publishing, in the form of two $2 million advances for two books. It also lists more than $250,000 in free travel and lodging from celebrity security adviser Gavin de Becker, according to an NPR report published by WUSF.

Mary Trump, the president's niece and host of The Mary Trump Podcast, used the filing on her podcast to argue for a ban on outside income for anyone in public office, whether elected or appointed. In her view, disclosure is no substitute for a prohibition.

"No government official, whether elected or appointed, should be able to make outside money during his or her tenure because that leads to serious conflicts of interest," she said.

What Kennedy's Financial Disclosure Shows

The filing was due May 15 and was submitted August 13, 90 days late, after Kennedy received an extension. It was amended four times in September. One of the two forthcoming books is titled Unsettled Science.

According to the NPR report, Kennedy's ethics agreement committed him not to engage in any writing, editing, or promotional activities associated with these books during his appointment, and not to provide any other services under the Skyhorse publishing agreement. Kathleen Clark, a law professor quoted in the report, said, "It seems very weird that RFK Jr. has accepted $4 million in book advances for two books that he has promised not to write or edit during the time that he's HHS Secretary."

The NPR report says the gifts from de Becker were free flights to Fiji and Greece and use of a vacation home in Washington, D.C., worth more than a quarter of a million dollars. On her podcast, Mary Trump put the total at roughly $275,000 in housing and airfare, and she described de Becker as Kennedy's longtime friend and political supporter.

"Bobby is my closest friend in the world for many years, and I'm grateful to be able to host him anytime," de Becker said in a statement. He added: "My gifts and our family vacations began years before he was at HHS — and I have nothing whatsoever to do with HHS in any regard."

For Mary Trump, the size of the advances and the gifts was the point. Her complaint was not that Kennedy hid the money. She argued that no official should be collecting outside income while in office.

HHS Says Kennedy Complies With Ethics Requirements

In a statement quoted in the NPR report, HHS said, "Secretary Kennedy complies with all applicable federal ethics laws, regulations, and financial disclosure requirements." On her podcast, Mary Trump noted that Kennedy had disclosed the book advances and that HHS says he complies with applicable ethics requirements.

Mary Trump was unpersuaded. "Well, maybe we need better ethics requirements," she said. She also took aim at de Becker's explanation: "Long standing friendship. That sounds familiar." De Becker, for his part, says the gifts predate Kennedy's time at HHS and that he has no business with the department.

She went further, saying that when it comes to the nation's health, Kennedy "has proven himself to be completely unworthy of being Secretary of Health and Human Services."

A Pattern of Promises, Mary Trump Says

The disclosure came up in an episode largely devoted to the administration's health care deals, including its agreements with drug manufacturers, which Mary Trump argued keep the public from judging what those deals are worth. She said that "Americans still can't see much of the information needed to determine what they're actually saving."

"Redactions have become something of a metaphor for the Trump regime," she said. "He makes enormous promises in public, which he has no intention of keeping."

She described the promise of future savings as "a sales pitch that runs rampant throughout the Trump regime," summing up its message as: "Pay more now, trust us, and the savings will come later."

What Comes Next for Kennedy

When Kennedy was sworn in at HHS on February 13, 2025, he promised to end what he called the corruption and corporate capture of the nation's health agency. Mary Trump said that promise should be tested against his own movement's finances, saying that "follow the money is good advice."

The standard she proposed would reach well beyond Kennedy's case. Rather than relying on individual ethics agreements, like the one in which he pledged not to write, edit or promote the books covered by his Skyhorse publishing agreement during his appointment, it would prohibit every official, elected or appointed, from earning any outside income while in office.