Donald Trump’s transition team reportedly plans to surround Robert F Kennedy Jr with some anti-abortion figures to appease members of the GOP who are unconvinced by the prospective head of the Department of Health and Human Services and his stance on the divisive issue.
Concerns have been raised about RFK Jr – who previously said he opposed any government limits on abortion at the state or federal level – and his confirmation by the Republican majority Senate. Abortion is guaranteed to come up during the hearing.
Speaking to Fox News, Oklahoma Senator James Lankford, a new member of Senate GOP leadership, said: “It’ll come up in the hearing 100 percent. There’s no question that this will be an issue. I will raise it if no one else does.”
His sentiments have been echoed by other senior GOP figures including former Vice President Mike Pence and South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham.
Sources with knowledge of the situation told CNN that assurances are already being made to anti-abortion leaders that other top healthcare positions in the looming Trump administration will be stacked with anti-abortion advocates.
“I made clear to them that this needs to be tended to,” one anti-abortion leader, who spoke with the transition team over their concerns, told CNN.
“We have some serious policy and personnel concerns that have been proprietary to our community for 30 years. The expectation they’ve given me is they will have an assistant HHS secretary who more aligns with us.”
Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said there was “no question” about the need for a pro-life HHS secretary, saying that the organization had concerns about the appointment of RFK Jr.
“I believe that no matter who is HHS secretary, baseline policies set by President Trump during his first term will be re-established,” she told CNN.
During his independent presidential bid, RFK Jr praised Roe v Wade, saying he was “for choice and medical freedom.” A statement posted on his website states: “Abortion is a tragedy but I don’t trust the government to make these decisions for Americans.
“I’m for choice and medical freedom. We need to trust mothers to make the best decisions. We also need to give full support to mothers who want to bring babies to term.”
RFK Jr has since walked back on the comments after blowback from anti-abortion advocates, including from inside his own campaign at the time.
I am thrilled to announce Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as The United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 14, 2024
However, his wavering on the issue prompted figures including Pence – who is staunchly anti-abortion – to call for GOP senators to reject his nomination.
“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 said in a statement following Trump’s selection of Kennedy for the HHS role, adding that the pick was “deeply concerning to millions of pro-life Americans.”
Graham, who lobbied Trump during his 2024 campaign to support a 15-week national abortion ban with exceptions, recently told The Dispatch: “I want to see what [RFK Jr] has to say about abortion. … That will matter a lot to me.”
