A nonpartisan ethics watchdog group has asked for an investigation into whether a top Department of Health and Human Services official violated ethics laws after a recent ProPublica investigation revealed actions experts called “alarming” and an “obvious conflict of interest.” 

Alicia Jackson, who heads the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, publicly endorsed a change to federal health policy on hormone replacement therapies while owning stock in a company that provides access to menopause treatments. 

In a letter to the department’s inspector general, the Campaign Legal Center also questioned whether Jackson properly identified up to $400 million in underlying assets held by her husband’s investment firm. The center’s review identified an additional potential conflict — investments in a second firm that provides hormone treatments for menopause. 

Jackson, who heads the HHS agency that invests taxpayer money in medical technology and research, was recently placed on administrative leave, though health officials have not publicly explained why.

In its letter, the Campaign Legal Center cited the ProPublica investigation that found Jackson spoke at an HHS press conference last November and was quoted in a department news release announcing the decision to remove “black box warnings” from hormone replacement therapy products. 

At the time, Jackson owned at least $115,000 in stock and an unknown amount of stock options in Evernow, a company she founded that connects women to hormone replacement treatments, according to her financial disclosures.

It’s unclear what role, if any, Jackson played in the decision to drop the requirement to display a black box warning, the most serious type of federal safety warning. The Food and Drug Administration regulates drugs. And an FDA panel of experts had recommended ending the requirement months before Jackson became her agency’s director in October 2025.

Still, ethics experts noted that federal law prohibits government employees from participating “personally and substantially” in matters that could influence their personal finances — even making statements at a press conference or in a news release.  

The Campaign Legal Center asked the inspector general to examine whether Jackson broke federal ethics laws by failing to recuse herself. Neither Jackson nor the HHS will say whether she obtained a conflict-of-interest waiver before participating in the policy announcement. 

“Americans have a right to know that government decisions are not being made to benefit a federal employee’s financial interests,” the organization wrote.

The center also asked the inspector general to determine if Jackson failed to fully and accurately disclose her and her spouse’s financial interests in private investment funds.

ProPublica’s investigation found that Jackson reported she and her husband owned more than 60 venture capital and private equity funds that she said do not disclose their holdings to investors. These include at least 13 funds managed by 137 Ventures, a venture capital firm co-founded by her husband, Alex Jacobson. The company invests in a wide range of industries, including healthcare, digital health and medical device companies.

Ethics experts said the funds could pose a serious conflict of interest if the underlying businesses received grants or contracts from her agency. 

The Campaign Legal Center’s review of Jackson’s disclosures identified one of those funds — 137 Ventures IV LP — as an investor in Thirty Madison Inc., a virtual healthcare company. Thirty Madison owns a subsidiary that provides hormone replacement treatments for women experiencing menopause symptoms. Jackson’s disclosures do not show her divesting from the fund before the black box warning announcement, the center said.

Under federal law, financial disclosure forms filed by federal officials like Jackson must then be certified by ethics staff as complying with the law. But Jackson’s two financial disclosures — filed last October and two months ago — remain uncertified. 

HHS’ inspector general’s office would not confirm or deny whether it is investigating Jackson. The inspector general, T. March Bell, was one of nearly 100 appointees confirmed by the Senate in a December 2025 party-line vote. President Donald Trump fired the previous inspector general just days into the president’s second term.

ProPublica also requested responses from HHS, Jackson, Jacobson and 137 Ventures, but none commented. In a statement to ProPublica last month, an HHS spokesperson said that while Jackson was on leave the agency would “assess the facts before determining any change in her status. HHS requires all officials to comply with federal ethics laws, regulations, and policies.” 

Jackson was appointed by Trump as her agency’s second director and sworn in on Oct. 20, 2025. The agency, created three years earlier to spur revolutionary biomedical research and technologies, has a $1.5 billion budget. It has issued numerous contracts and grants, including $160 million for genetic medicines combating rare diseases and $144 million to study existing treatments for age-related illnesses.

Jackson’s disclosures are among 2,400 added last month to ProPublica’s Trump Team Financials database, a searchable tool launched in March. The records detail the finances of more than 2,300 officials appointed by Trump. Since last year, we’ve requested disclosure records from 127 federal agencies and the White House. Disclosures from roughly 1,500 appointees remain unreleased.