Senate Republicans are signaling they are open to nominating Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), even though he has long supported abortion rights and abortion opponents have concerns about his choice.
Several leading anti-abortion figures and groups have expressed concern about Kennedy. But while Senate Republicans say they have questions for Kennedy on abortion, they also suggest they may end up supporting him largely out of deference to President-elect Trump.
“Donald Trump was elected to shake things up [from] “It’s business as usual in Washington, and I think that’s the type of nominee he’s selecting,” said Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. . “President Trump is a pro-lifer, so I don’t think there will be any question among those who ultimately influence policy.”
Kennedy, the former presidential candidate, ran for the HHS post pushing to “make America whole again” if he wins approval from the upper house in the coming months.
He has obstacles to overcome, most notably his stance on vaccines and his call to remove fluoride from drinking water – two moves that would face stiff opposition.
But it is his stance on abortion rights that most runs counter to Republican orthodoxy after the party helped solidify the 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court that overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago.
Some Senate Republicans have indicated that they expect Kennedy to face scrutiny on the issue, particularly when he meets individually with Senate Republicans behind closed doors and during his potential confirmation hearings after Christmas.
“This is a list of questions I will ask him during the confirmation process,” said Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), one of the leading anti-abortion Republicans in the Senate. “The Trump administration was pretty clear and consistent on all of these life issues at HHS in the first administration. I expect they will be just as clear in the second part.”
The newly appointed member of GOP leadership noted that he won’t just look at Kennedy through that lens, adding that the eventual nominee for Food and Drug Administration commissioner will face similar questions on the issue.
He also indicated that he expected the Senate GOP conference to address Kennedy’s stance on abortion more fully.
“This is a core issue at HHS,” Lankford said. “It is entirely appropriate that we are given the opportunity to talk about this.”
Senate Republicans aren’t the only ones who recognize the importance of the issue. Kennedy himself has privately admitted that he must handle the issue effectively to win the required 51 votes.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), a top Trump ally, told The Hill that he and Kennedy discussed his views on abortion rights, with the former presidential candidate noting that he was trying to advance Trump’s priorities, not his own .
“He says, ‘You know my position on this. But I also serve the President of the United States and represent his administration, and I respect that position,” Mullin said of Kennedy.
“So that should be enough for most people,” Mullin added. “Even in our conference, there are people who disagree and are still Republicans.”
But that hasn’t stopped some leading abortion opponents from calling on their members to advance Kennedy’s nomination. Former Vice President Mike Pence railed against Kennedy’s stance and the idea that someone with those leanings would run HHS under a Republican president.
“I believe that the appointment of RFK Jr. as Secretary of HHS represents an abrupt departure from our administration’s pro-life record and is deeply troubling to millions of pro-life Americans who have supported the Republican Party and our candidates “Decades,” Pence said in a statement.
However, most anti-abortion groups are not following his lead. Instead, they have indicated that they are willing to show him some mercy and not slam the door in his face from the start.
“Like many newcomers to the conservative pro-life movement, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. needs further education about the reality of abortion and its harmful effects on children, women, public health and our country,” said John Mize, CEO of Americans United for life.
Mize pointed to Kennedy’s comments during the Iowa State Fair last year that he supported a federal ban on abortion between 15 and 21 weeks of pregnancy as an “encouraging” sign that he would continue to take steps consistent with the anti-abortion movement in the United States would be in harmony.
During his long-term presidential bid, Kennedy said at the 2023 Iowa State Fair that he would support a federal ban on abortion after the first three months of pregnancy if elected president. He tried quickly take back his comments and posted on the social media platform X that in his opinion abortion should be possible without restrictions until the fetus is viable or around the 24th week of pregnancy.
“I have been an advocate for medical freedom and fought for bodily autonomy throughout my career, and I trust women’s maternal instincts,” he wrote.
“What if the baby has a terminal condition that causes him to survive in severe suffering just a few hours or days after birth? Can and should we enshrine such painful decisions in law and take them away from the mother? Is a bureaucrat or judge better placed to make a decision than the baby’s mother?”
Kennedy’s campaign also released a statement saying he misunderstood the reporter’s questions and attributed the misunderstanding to the “crowded” and “noisy” convention hall.
Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life Action, said the organization looks forward to speaking with Kennedy about his promise to “make America whole again” and how his plan to do so addresses abortion.
“RFK Jr. has a proven track record of holding healthcare bureaucrats accountable for prioritizing public health over political interests,” Hawkins told The Hill. “There is no agency more heavily armed than HHS, where everything that is good for the Democrats’ big donor – Planned Parenthood – is fast-tracked.”
However, Kennedy will need to win the trust of some more skeptical members of the anti-abortion movement if he is to win confirmation as HHS secretary.
“I admire RFK Jr., but he won’t be vindicated if he sticks with abortion after Kamala Harris’s history of failing to sell it as a successful issue. … Just as he has distanced himself from other outspoken Democratic positions, he must abandon his outdated stance on abortion,” said Shawn Carney, CEO and president of 40 Days for Life.
“You can’t go against Snickers bars in the name of health and at the same time discard the unborn child. This is inconsistent, unbelievable and contrary to the majority of lifers,” he added.
