Democratic senators probe RFK Jr. over yacht trip omitted from ethics disclosure

Kennedy’s disclosure covered over $250,000 in gifts but excluded the Greece voyage

Democratic senators are probing Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over gifts he received from campaign donor Gavin de Becker, including a July 2025 trip around Greek islands aboard de Becker’s yacht that was not included in Kennedy’s federal ethics disclosure. In letters sent Tuesday, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland told Kennedy and de Becker to provide information about their relationship and details of de Becker’s gifts. Wyden is poised to run the Senate Finance Committee when Democrats take power in January, and Alsobrooks has called for Kennedy to resign or be fired.

The yacht travel has not been previously reported. The Wall Street Journal reported in September that Kennedy received more than $250,000 in gifts from de Becker, including airfare and use of a home in Washington, D.C., according to a federal ethics disclosure. The July voyage was one of a series of 2025 gifts from the security consultant, gifts that are now facing scrutiny from Congress in the form of the senators’ new probe.

Federal ethics rules prohibit executive branch officials from accepting gifts from individuals who have an interest in their official duties or are seeking some official action from their agency. The rules allow gifts from personal friends. The senators say Kennedy cannot accept gifts from de Becker because de Becker is a prominent antivaccine and ketamine-therapy advocate who has a business relationship with Kennedy.

The senators wrote to Kennedy: “It seems abundantly clear that Mr. de Becker is a prohibited source and that you are not permitted to accept gifts from him while you serve as Secretary.” They added: “Even if you consider him a friend, your relationship is not purely personal.”

HHS spokeswoman Emily Hilliard said Kennedy complied with federal ethics disclosure rules and that “his financial disclosure report was reviewed and certified by agency ethics officials.”

De Becker told the Journal in a statement that the two men and their families have vacationed together for years before Kennedy became health secretary, and said their relationship is unconnected to his government work. “As a parent and a criminologist, my books on big pharma misconduct go back long before Bobby Kennedy Jr was working for the federal government,” he said. “I have an interest in medical freedom and health, but I have no interest in HHS.”

Kennedy joined de Becker on his yacht Loloma in July 2025, people familiar with the matter said, and sailed around Greek islands, according to tracking data for the vessel. The 151-foot luxury ship has five cabins and can hold up to 10 guests, and Kennedy’s entire Greece trip lasted about a week, people familiar with the matter said. A vessel-tracking graphic titled “Voyage of Gavin de Becker’s yacht on July 10th” shows the yacht departed Nafpaktos at 11:45 a.m. and arrived near Vasiliki at 3:44 a.m. on July 11. On one leg of the voyage, the ship coasted from the town of Nafpaktos to the Greek island Kastos. A second trip went to Nydri, a popular tourist town, and the last trip ended around Lefkada, an island in the Ionian Sea known for its white cliffs and beaches.

The voyage adds to the nearly $45,000 in airfare that de Becker gifted Kennedy for his July trip to Greece, which Kennedy disclosed in his ethics filing.

De Becker, a security consultant who is known for protecting Jeff Bezos, Madonna and other VIPs, was a major donor to Kennedy who backed his 2024 campaign for president. Kennedy’s campaign also paid de Becker’s firm for security services.

Don Sherman, executive director of the nonprofit Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said there are questions about the gifts because de Becker advocates for ketamine and is a vaccine skeptic, and thus has interests in official actions Kennedy could take. “If he is advocating for policies that can be impacted by the performance of the secretary’s job, that certainly informs whether it’s OK for the secretary to accept a gift,” he said.