{"id":168,"date":"2026-06-03T18:16:56","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T18:16:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=168"},"modified":"2026-06-03T18:16:56","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T18:16:56","slug":"top-hhs-lawyer-reassigned-after-stock-trading-rebuke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=168","title":{"rendered":"Top HHS Lawyer Reassigned After Stock Trading Rebuke"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Department of Health and Human Services General Counsel Mike Stuart is no longer serving in that role, three agency sources familiar with the matter confirmed to NOTUS.<\/p>\n

Read more Republicans Are Investigating Anti-Data-Center Nonprofits Over Their China Ties<\/a><\/p>\n

Stuart continues to work at the agency in an unknown capacity, the sources added.<\/p>\n

Stuart\u2019s apparent reassignment follows NOTUS reporting from last week<\/u><\/span> that detailed how Stuart recently six-figures\u2019 worth of stock in Corning Inc. \u2014 a major HHS contractor \u2014 while also trading stock shares of other government contractors.<\/p>\n

The trade prompted a federal ethics official to state that Stuart was in \u201ccontinued non-compliance\u201d with an he signed last year, in which he pledged to \u201cavoid any actual or apparent conflict of interest.\u201d<\/p>\n

After publication of NOTUS\u2019 report, Stuart\u2019s HHS general counsel biography page disappeared from the agency\u2019s website. Other references to Stuart as general counsel disappeared, too.<\/p>\n

Stuart did not respond to messages left this week by phone and email.<\/p>\n

Gretchen H. Weaver, HHS\u2019s associate general counsel for ethics, declined to comment and referred questions to agency spokesperson Andrew Nixon. Nixon and HHS spokesperson Emily Hilliard also declined to comment.<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump tapped<\/u><\/span> Stuart to lead HHS\u2019s legal department in February 2025. The U.S. Senate confirmed<\/u><\/span> Stuart in October.<\/p>\n

In his role, Stuart oversaw legal affairs for an agency whose components include the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.<\/p>\n

His brief tenure quickly grew turbulent. Citing agency sources, Politico reported<\/u><\/span> in February that Stuart would leave his job as general counsel for another role in the Trump administration.<\/p>\n

Read more Leading Public Health Journal Suggests How To Define Ultra-Processed Foods<\/a><\/p>\n

But that didn\u2019t happen, at least immediately. Nixon said at the time that Stuart would continue to serve as general counsel pending appointment to an undefined administration position \u201cfighting fraud for hardworking taxpayers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through March, April and most of May, HHS continued to list Stuart as its general counsel. Stuart personally listed \u201cgeneral counsel\u201d as his title in signed reports he submitted to the Office of Government Ethics. Stuart\u2019s official government X account<\/u><\/span>, which he hasn\u2019t posted on since March, still refers to him as HHS general counsel, as does his LinkedIn page<\/u><\/span>.<\/p>\n

HHS\u2019s website, however, now lists Principal Deputy General Counsel Robert Foster as the agency\u2019s \u201cacting general counsel.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an interview last week with NOTUS, Stuart defended his personal stock-trading practices.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t use any information I would glean inappropriately. If I see something I like, I buy it,\u201d Stuart told NOTUS, adding that he makes his own individual stock trades \u2014 without the assistance of a broker or financial adviser.<\/p>\n

Stuart \u2014 a onetime U.S. attorney<\/u><\/span> and state senator<\/u><\/span> in West Virginia \u2014 said that he immediately sold his Corning stock after ethics officials questioned him.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy whole career, I\u2019ve never had even a whiff of an ethical issue,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m extra careful that I am completely in compliance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Democratic Congressman Blames Technology Hiccup for STOCK Act Violation<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

General Counsel Mike Stuart, who had personally invested in an agency contractor, remains at the agency.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":167,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-money"],"yoast_head":"\nTop HHS Lawyer Reassigned After Stock Trading Rebuke - Modern Home Journals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=168\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Top HHS Lawyer Reassigned After Stock Trading Rebuke - Modern Home Journals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"General Counsel Mike Stuart, who had personally invested in an agency contractor, remains at the agency.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=168\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Modern Home Journals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-03T18:16:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=168#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=168\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0\"},\"headline\":\"Top HHS Lawyer Reassigned After Stock Trading Rebuke\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-03T18:16:56+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=168\"},\"wordCount\":530,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=168#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/9fabf3cdbe0f6e49145978e33e39df40-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Money\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=168#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=168\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=168\",\"name\":\"Top HHS Lawyer Reassigned After Stock Trading Rebuke - Modern Home Journals\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=168#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=168#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/9fabf3cdbe0f6e49145978e33e39df40-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-03T18:16:56+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=168#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=168\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=168#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/9fabf3cdbe0f6e49145978e33e39df40-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/9fabf3cdbe0f6e49145978e33e39df40-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"FILE - The Department of Health and Human Services building is seen in Washington, April 16, 2025. 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