In not-so-shocking news after his wife rudely snubbed Melania Trump at Jimmy Carter’s funeral in the National Cathedral, former Vice President Mike Pence has, through his organization, Advancing American Freedom (AAF), been urging United States Senators to vote against confirming Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). The letter in which he did so was first obtained by the Daily Wire.
Particularly at issue in the AAF letter sent by Mr. Pence’s AAF personalities, AAF President Tim Chapman and Chairman of the Board Marc Short, was that Mr. Kennedy has previously taken a somewhat soft stance on abortion and been generally in favor of allowing women to abort their unborn babies in most circumstances.
At one point, the Daily Wire report on the letter notes, the two sounded off on Mr. Kennedy’s former argument, which is not one the Trump Administration has endorsed or at all indicated Mr. Kennedy will be able to act upon in his HHS role, that women should have a right to abort “even if [the baby] is full term.”
Going on the attack against that view, the two men said that it is “completely out of step with the strong, pro-life record of the first Trump Administration.” Further, The Daily Wire report notes that the two AAF personalities claimed that pro-life Americans can’t trust Mr. Kennedy despite his moving in their direction, saying, “While RFK Jr. has made certain overtures to pro-life leaders that he would be mindful of their concerns at HHS, there is little reason for confidence at this time.”
They then added, “There are hundreds of decisions made every day at HHS that either lead our nation toward a respect for life or away from it—decisions about federal funding for Planned Parenthood, regulations on the abortion pill (currently accounting for three out of every five abortions), insurance coverage of abortion, and more.”
The letter also, according to the Daily Wire report, argued his abortion views are more important than the MAHA agenda, saying, “Whatever the merits of RFK Jr’s Make America Healthy Again initiative—indeed, whatever other qualities a nominee might possess—an HHS Secretary must have a firm commitment to protect unborn children, or else bend under the pressure and pushback surrounding these daily, critical decisions.”
And, demanding senators not vote for him, they said, “We strongly encourage you to reject the nomination of any pro-abortion nominees to serve at HHS. RFK Jr., as well as any other nominated HHS Secretary, must be able to provide satisfactory answers to the list of important pro-life questions attached to this letter. The pro-life movement has a strong bench of courageous pro-life leaders who are willing to serve the American people as the head of HHS.”
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Mr. Kennedy, for his part, has spoken to Josh Hawley on the issue, as The Daily Wire notes, and has promised the Missouri Senator that “all of his deputies at HHS would be pro-life.” Further, the HHS nominee has vowed that he will “reinstate conscience protections for healthcare providers.” Sen. Hawley, commenting on those pledges, said, “He told me he believes there are far too many abortions in the U.S. and that we cannot be the moral leader of the free world with abortion rates so high.”
Watch RFK Jr. slam a reporter while setting the record straight on his views here: