"Deeply concerning" is what Former Vice President Mike Pence has described President-elect Donald Trump's nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health and Human Services secretary. Pence has urged Senate Republicans to oppose Trump's pick.
"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 said in a statement Friday on behalf of his conservative nonprofit Advancing American Freedom.
During his presidential campaign, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. consistently voiced his support for "a woman's right to choose" and said that he does not support any legislation banning abortion. His campaign website highlights his strong backing of Roe v. Wade, stating that if the courts fail to overturn Dobbs v. Jackson and restore abortion rights, he would advocate for legislation to achieve that goal.
Mike Pence, who served as Trump's vice president, has distanced himself from his former running mate following their fallout over Pence's certification of the 2020 election for President Joe Biden. Since then, Pence has openly disagreed with Trump and the GOP on several issues, particularly favoring a national abortion ban over leaving the matter to individual states.
In the statement, Pence said the agency Trump picked Kennedy to lead makes "hundreds of decisions" daily "that either lead our nation toward a respect for life or away from it."
"If confirmed, RFK, Jr. would be the most pro-abortion Republican appointed secretary of HHS in modern history," Pence said in the statement.
Pence has openly opposed Trump's stance that abortion should be left to the states, previously describing it as a "slap in the face" to those who oppose abortion.
If confirmed as HHS secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would oversee 13 public health agencies and has already signaled plans for significant changes. Speaking at a November conference, Kennedy stated he would halt infectious disease research at the National Institutes of Health if appointed to a position in the Trump administration.
Not only Pence, many Democrats, and some Republicans expressed concerns about the pick. Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins said that Kennedy "would be a surprising choice." House Rep. Rep. John Duarte, R-Calif., expressed concerns that he could "move against one of the most life-saving technologies in the history of the world."
