Mike Stuart
WASHINGTON – A former U.S. Attorney from West Virginia says he no longer is serving as general counsel at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Mike Stuart said he remains at HHS as a Senior Advisor under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Stuart, who also previously served as chairman of the state Republican Party and a state Senator, said the Trump administration wanted him in a different role.
“I remain at HHS and simply moved to a Senior Advisor role within the department for the purpose of focusing on preparing for my next challenge inside the administration,” Stuart told The West Virginia Record. “I want to thank President Trump for the tremendous honor of serving as only the 23rd General Counsel in the history of HHS and as the only West Virginian to ever serve in the role.
“I look forward to my continued service to the American people as I continue working in President Trump’s historic Administration. Another announcement ahead. Stay tuned.”
In a June 3 article, three HHS sources told News of the United States (notus.org) that Stuart is no longer serving in the role. The week before, NOTUS reported Stuart had made a six-figure purchase of stock in Corning, a major HHS contractor, while also trading stock shares of other government contractors.
NOTUS reported that the trading prompted a federal ethics official to say Stuart was in “continued non-compliance” with an ethics agreement he signed last year, in which he pledged to “avoid any actual or apparent conflict of interest.”
In an interview last week with NOTUS, Stuart defended his personal stock-trading practices. He also said he immediately sold his Corning stock after he was questioned by ethics officials about it.
“I don’t use any information I would glean inappropriately,” Stuart told NOTUS. “If I see something I like, I buy it. …
“My whole career, I’ve never had even a whiff of an ethical issue. I’m extra careful that I am completely in compliance.”
After the NOTUS report, Stuart’s HHS general counsel biography page disappeared from the agency’s website, as did other references to Stuart as general counsel. The HHS website now lists Principal Deputy General Counsel Robert Foster as acting general counsel.
President Donald Trump nominated Stuart to serve as HHS general counsel in February 2025, and he was confirmed to the position in October.
