Former Vice President Mike Pence has come out against Donald Trump's pick of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to serve for the Department of Health and Human Services, and is urging Republicans to "reject his nomination."
Pence shared that it was Kennedy's defense of abortion being available "during all nine months of pregnancy" that led him to call for Kennedy's nomination to be rejected.
"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," Pence said in a statement obtained by CNN and shared to X.
Pence, in a rare statement, opposes RFK Jr. at HHS: "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.…
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) November 15, 2024
"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," Pence's statement continued.
Kennedy is said to be "a firm supporter" of Roe v. Wade, and believes that "the decision on whether to continue a pregnancy should be up to the mother," according to his campaign website.
The former Independent candidate previously told podcaster Sage Steele during an interview that he supported abortion rights "even if it's full-term." Abortions after 21-weeks are rare though, and can be difficult to obtain, as reported by KFF.
Pence's relationship with Trump has not been the same since the 2020 election when the former vice president called for the election results to be certified. He did not endorse Trump for the 2024 election.
Mike Pence onstage at @thedispatch's post-election summit. "Conservatives need to understand that we're part of a broader coalition. Now, we need to do our jobs."
— David Weigel (@daveweigel) November 12, 2024
"I am very encouraged by the early appointments by the president-elect."
But while the former vice president was very vocal about his thoughts on Kennedy, Pence previously said at the Dispatch Summit that he was "very encouraged by the early appointments by the president-elect," as reported by Semafor and shared in a post to X.
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