Pence urges Senate Republicans to reject Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s HHS nomination over support for abortion
Former Vice President Mike Pence called on Senate Republicans on Friday to oppose President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), citing Kennedy’s stance on abortion.
In a statement released by his nonprofit organization, Advancing American Freedom, Pence emphasized that during the Trump-Pence administration, the White House was firmly pro-life. “The Trump-Pence administration was unapologetically pro-life for our four years in office. The decisions made at HHS every day either advanced a culture of life or undermined it, and under our leadership, HHS consistently stood for life,” Pence said.
He went on to express concern that Kennedy’s nomination marked a sharp break from the administration’s pro-life principles, warning that it should alarm millions of pro-life Americans who have long supported the Republican Party. “I believe the nomination of RFK Jr. to serve as Secretary of HHS is an abrupt departure from the pro-life record of our administration and should be deeply concerning to millions of pro-life Americans who have supported the Republican Party and our nominees for decades,” Pence added.
Pence also criticized Kennedy’s past advocacy for abortion rights, pointing to his longstanding support for abortion access at any stage of pregnancy and his calls to overturn the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade. “For the majority of his career, Kennedy has defended abortion on demand throughout all nine months of pregnancy, supports overturning the Dobbs decision, and has called for legislation to codify Roe v. Wade,” Pence stated. “If confirmed, he would be the most pro-abortion Republican appointed as secretary of HHS in modern history.”
He stressed that the Republican Party has long been the party of life and that the pro-life movement expects its leaders to protect the rights of the unborn. “The pro-life movement has always looked to the Republican Party to stand for life and affirm that an unborn child has a fundamental right to life that cannot be infringed,” Pence said.
Pence, speaking on behalf of “tens of millions of pro-life Americans,” urged Senate Republicans to reject Kennedy’s nomination and instead confirm a leader who would uphold the sanctity of life at the Department of Health and Human Services.
Kennedy has faced scrutiny for his shifting position on abortion. In May, he stated he would allow abortions up until full-term, though he later clarified his stance, saying he supported abortion only up to the point of fetal viability.
Other Christian conservatives have also voiced concerns about Kennedy’s nomination. Daniel Darling, director of the Land Center for Cultural Engagement at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and former leader in the Southern Baptist Convention’s public policy arm, described the nomination as a “huge blow” to social conservatives. “If true, a huge blow to social conservatives,” Darling wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Kennedy’s nomination is expected to be a contentious issue in the Senate, as Republicans continue to grapple with the role of abortion in their party’s platform.
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