Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, has continued to earn hundreds of thousands of pounds as a paid spokesperson for a sleep supplement while serving in his diplomatic role, raising potential ethical concerns.
The former Arkansas governor and two-time presidential candidate appears in late-night cable adverts for Relaxium, a non-FDA-approved sleep aid. In one commercial, Huckabee says: “I trust Relaxium sleep and so should you.”
According to NOTUS, Huckabee disclosed in his financial filings that he was paid $414,684 (£328,000) by the American Behavioral Research Institute, Relaxium’s manufacturer, in 2024. His ethics agreement with the Office of Government Ethics stated he would not enter new licensing deals but would continue to receive payments from existing ones.
The US Embassy Jerusalem told NOTUS: “No. Ambassadors need to sleep, too,” when asked if Huckabee had concerns about the endorsement. The embassy added that Huckabee has “no legal right” to stop the institute using his image due to a name, image and likeness agreement.
However, after NOTUS published its article, the institute appeared to remove a video of Huckabee from its website. The FDA had earlier issued a warning to the institute for failing to submit proper paperwork before sponsoring a clinical trial of Relaxium.
Peter Loge, director of the Project on Ethics in Political Communication at George Washington University, said: “Government officials should not, and should not appear to be, endorsing a commercial product. Full stop.”
