'Completely out of step': Mike Pence’s org comes out swinging against Trump Cabinet pick

15 January

Former Vice President Mike Pence may no longer be President-elect Donald Trump's right-hand man, but he's not quite done with politics yet.

That's according to a Wednesday article in Politico, which reported that Pence's organization, Advancing American Freedom (AAF), is waging a campaign aimed at Republican senators urging them to reject one of Trump's high-profile Cabinet picks. AAF is setting its sights on Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary-designate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over his previous positions in favor of abortion.

AAF wrote in a statement that Kennedy is "pro-abortion," which the group argues is "completely out of step with the strong, pro-life record of the first Trump Administration."

"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," AAF's letter continued.

AAF's letter advocating against Kennedy's confirmation comes on the heels of a remark Pence made in December, when he lamented that RFK Jr. was "the most pro-abortion Republican appointed secretary of HHS in modern history." And so far, the president-elect's team has remained relatively quiet regarding RFK Jr.'s past comments in favor of abortion.

When Kennedy was fielding his own presidential bid as an independent, he had conflicting positions on abortion. At first, he backed a 15-week ban on the procedure, but then did a one-eighty and said all pregnant individuals should have the right to an abortion, "even if it's full-term." He's since walked that statement back saying that he only supports abortion restrictions late into a pregnancy.

As Politico reported, HHS has significant sway over abortion in the United States as it provides funding for women's health nonprofit Planned Parenthood. HHS also has jurisdiction over abortion drug Mifepristone, which has been used for medication abortions with FDA approval for decades. The Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 has called for the enforcement of the Comstock Act of 1873 as a means of restricting access to abortion drugs like Mifepristone.

Click here to read Politico's article in full.

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