Mike Pence, who served as Vice President during Donald Trump’s first term, has announced his opposition to the appointment of Robert F Kennedy Jr as Secretary of Health and Human Services, citing his views on abortion.
In a statement released by his conservative nonprofit, Advancing American Freedom, Pence asserted that the Trump-Pence administration was “unapologetically pro-life for our four years in office.”
He added that there are hundreds of decisions made at HHS every day that either “lead our nation toward a respect for life or away from it, and HHS under our administration always stood for life.”
The former Vice President expressed belief that the nomination of Robert F Kennedy Jr. to serve as Secretary of HHS is an “abrupt departure from the pro-life record” of Trump-Pence administration and should be deeply concerning to millions of Pro-Life Americans who have supported the Republican Party and nominees for decades.
During his presidential campaign, which he ended in August and announced his support for Trump, Kennedy Jr said that he is in favor of abortion being legal up to a certain point.
He noted that for the majority of his career, RFK Jr. has defended abortion on demand during all nine months of pregnancy, supports overturning the Dobbs decision and has called for legislation to codify Roe v Wade.
“If confirmed, RFK, Jr. would be the most pro-abortion Republican appointed Secretary of HHS in modern history. The pro-life movement has always looked to the Republican party to stand for life, to affirm an unborn child has a fundamental right to life which cannot be infringed.
“On behalf of tens of millions of pro-life Americans, I respectfully urge Senate Republicans to reject this nomination and give the American people a leader who will respect the sanctity of life as secretary of Health and Human Services.”
Mike Pence
Kennedy Jr has also been criticized for his anti-vaccine views.
Pence fell out with Trump after refusing to go along with his attempts to stop Joe Biden from taking office after the 2020 election. Nonetheless, his words may hold some sway with conservative senators opposed to abortion.
It is ultimately up to the Senate, and in particular its incoming Republican majority, to decide the fate of Donald Trump’s nominees for cabinet posts.
Kennedy Expected To Carry Out Trump’s Agenda
When asked about Robert F Kennedy Jr’s anti-vaccine views, Steve Scalise, Republican Majority Leader in the House of Representatives, told a news agency, “Look, ultimately, he’s going to be carrying out President Trump’s agenda.”
“You know, everybody comes in, with their own ideas, whether it’s going to be RFK, whether it’s Marco Rubio and foreign policy, but ultimately, when you take on a position like that, you’re there to carry out President Trump’s agenda for all the Cabinet Secretaries, and I have no doubt that they’re all going to be focused on that mission and carrying out the mandate the voters gave us.”
Steve Scalise
Separately, the outgoing Democratic Chair of the Senate judiciary committee, Dick Durbin warned that Trump’s appointees to top Justice Department posts are a sign that he will direct prosecutors and law enforcement to retaliate against his political opponents.
Durbin singled out the President-elect’s nomination of Todd Blanche, who defended Trump in his hush money trial in New York, as Deputy Attorney General, and John Sauer, who argued before the supreme court in his immunity case, as Solicitor General.
“Coupled with the announcement that he intends to nominate former Congressman Matt Gaetz to be Attorney General, these selections show Donald Trump intends to weaponize the Justice Department to seek vengeance.
“Donald Trump viewed the Justice Department as his personal law firm during his first term, and these selections—his personal attorneys—are poised to do his bidding.”
Dick Durbin
Durbin added that America deserves a Justice Department that fights for equal justice under the law. “This isn’t it,” he said.
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