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USA TODAY

RFK Jr. nomination to HHS slammed by Mike Pence over abortion rights stance

Francesca Chambers, USA TODAY
2 min read

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump's selection of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his Health and Human Services secretary drew a rebuke Friday from his one-time Vice President Mike Pence.

In a statement on the appointment, Pence, who broke with Trump over the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and challenged him for the Republican nomination for president, said RFK Jr.'s selection was an affront to conservatives who oppose abortion.

"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 through his issues advocacy organization Advancing American Freedom.

FILE PHOTO: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump greet each other at a campaign event sponsored by conservative group Turning Point USA, in Duluth, Georgia, U.S., October 23, 2024. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump greet each other at a campaign event sponsored by conservative group Turning Point USA, in Duluth, Georgia, U.S., October 23, 2024. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo/File Photo

Kennedy's support for abortion rights has led to blowback from some conservatives since Trump formally announced the pick on Thursday. His stance on vaccines, which he has questioned the efficacy of, has otherwise roiled liberals and the medical profession.

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Pence took specific issue with Kennedy's views on abortions that take place later in women's pregnancies. A former third-party presidential candidate, who later dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump, Kennedy initially said the terminations of those pregnancies should be up to pregnant women rather than judges or bureaucrats.

Kennedy has since said that abortion should be legal until a fetus "is viable outside the womb" and supports the codification of Roe v. Wade, which was replaced by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Dobbs decision.

"If confirmed, RFK, Jr. would be the most pro-abortion Republican appointed secretary of HHS in modern history," Pence wrote.

To become HHS secretary, Kennedy would need the support of at least 51 senators. With the GOP on track to hold a slim majority in the next Senate.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: RFK Jr. nomination to HHS slammed by Mike Pence over abortion stance

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