Mike Huckabee, the Trump administration’s ambassador to Israel, has remained a paid spokesperson for a sleep supplement while also representing the United States in foreign relations with Israel, according to a report, raising questions about a potential ethical dilemma.
Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas and two-time presidential candidate, appears in late-night cable commercials peddling the non-FDA-approved supplement, Relaxium, for those having trouble sleeping, according to NOTUS.
“I trust Relaxium sleep and so should you,” Huckabee, identified as a 2016 presidential candidate, says in an ad, while urging viewers to call the number on screen and obtain their own bottle.
Huckabee has been a paid spokesperson for Relaxium for several years and appears to have continued to profit as one, even while serving in his high-profile government position. He seemingly has no intention of abandoning the gig.
After Trump nominated Huckabee, 70, to serve as ambassador to Israel in February, he indicated he would resign from several positions that could become a conflict of interest and divest from certain entities.
But in a seven-page ethics agreement, he informed the Office of Government Ethics: “I have licensed my name, image, and likeness. I will not enter any new licenses during my appointment to the position of ambassador. However, I will continue to get paid for previous licenses.”
In his financial disclosure, Huckabee indicated that he was paid $414,684 by the American Behavioral Research Institute, maker of Relaxium, in 2024, the year prior to his nomination.
When asked if Huckabee had concerns about his Relaxium endorsement, the U.S. Embassy Jerusalem told NOTUS: “No. Ambassadors need to sleep, too.”
The Independent has requested comment from Relaxium, the U.S. State Department, and the U.S. Embassy Jerusalem.
The U.S. Embassy Jerusalem also told NOTUS that Huckabee has “no legal right” to ask American Behavioral Research Institute to cease using him in promotions, due to a name, image and likeness agreement. The embassy emphasized that Huckabee does not own or control the institute’s content for Relaxium.
However, shortly after NOTUS published its article Tuesday, the institute appeared to remove a video of Huckabee from its website, the news outlet reported.
On Relaxium’s website archive, a saved version of the homepage from September shows Huckabee in a video endorsing the sleep supplement. As of Tuesday afternoon, the video of Huckabee is not on Relaxium’s homepage.
Typically, federal employees are asked to divest from assets or positions that could pose a conflict of interest, or appear as one, to maintain public confidence in the government. That also includes recusing oneself from certain matters that could benefit a family member or friend.
Peter Loge, the director of the Project on Ethics in Political Communication at George Washington University, told NOTUS that “government officials should not, and should not appear to be, endorsing a commercial product. Full stop.”
Earlier this year, the American Behavioral Research Institute received a warning from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for not submitting the proper paperwork before sponsoring a clinical trial of Relaxium.
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