Senate Republicans signal openness to Kennedy at HHS despite abortion-rights stance

Senate Republicans are signaling that they are open to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) despite his long-standing support of abortion rights and concerns emanating from anti-abortion voices about his selection.  

Several leading anti-abortion figures and outfits have expressed concerns about Kennedy. But while Senate Republicans say they have questions for Kennedy on the topic of abortion, they also indicate that they could end up backing him largely out of deference to President-elect Trump.  

“Donald Trump was elected to shake up things [from] Washington business as usual, and I think that’s the type of nominees he’s picking,” said Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. “President Trump is pro-life, so I don’t think there’ll be any question with those who ultimately affect policy.” 

Kennedy, the one-time presidential candidate, sought the HHS post and has pushed to “make America healthy again” if he is given the nod by the upper chamber in the coming months.  

He has obstacles to overcome, headlined by his stance on vaccines and his call to remove fluoride from drinking water — two moves that would come under intense opposition.  

But it’s his abortion-rights stance that is most anathema to Republican orthodoxy after the party helped cement 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 be scrutinized on that topic specifically when he meets behind closed doors with Senate Republicans individually and during his potential confirmation hearings after Christmas.  

“That is a list of question’s I’m going to have for him during the confirmation process,” said Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), one of the foremost anti-abortion Senate Republicans. “The Trump administration was pretty clear and consistent on all of those life issues at HHS in the first administration. I would assume they’ll be just as clear in the second one.” 

The newly minted member of GOP leadership noted that it’s not just Kennedy he’ll be looking at through this lens, adding that the eventual Food and Drug Administration commissioner nominee will face similar questions on the topic. 

He also signaled that he expects the Senate GOP conference to care more broadly about Kennedy’s stance on abortion.  

“That’s a core issue at HHS,” Lankford said. “That’s entirely appropriate for us to get a chance to talk about it.” 

It’s not just Senate Republicans who acknowledge the importance of the issue. Kennedy himself has privately acknowledged that he must navigate the issue effectively to win the requisite 51 votes.  

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), a top Trump ally, told The Hill that he and Kennedy discussed his leanings on abortion rights, with the ex-presidential candidate noting that he is trying to further Trump’s priorities, not his own. 

“He says: ‘You know my position on it. But I’m also serving at the will of the president of the United States and representing his administration, and I respect that position,’” Mullin said of Kennedy. 

“So that should be good enough for most people,” Mullin added. “There’s people who have different opinions in our conference too who are still Republicans.” 

This has not stopped some leading anti-abortion figures from calling on members to spike Kennedy’s nomination. Former Vice President Mike Pence railed about Kennedy’s stance and at the idea that someone with those leanings would lead HHS under a Republican president. 

“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 in a statement. 

However, most anti-abortion groups aren’t following his lead. Instead, they have indicated that they are willing to give him some grace and won’t slam the door in his face at the outset. 

“Lime many newcomers to the conservative pro-life movement, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. needs further education on the reality of abortion and its harmful effects on children, women, public health and our nation,” 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 abortion ban at 15 to 21 weeks of pregnancy as an “encouraging” sign that he will continue to take steps that align with the anti-abortions movement.  

During his long-shot presidential bid, Kennedy said at the 2023 Iowa state fair that he would support a federal abortion ban after the first three months of pregnancy if he were elected president. He quickly tried to backtrack on his comments and posted on the social media platform X that he believed abortion should be unrestricted until the point of fetal viability or around 24 weeks of pregnancy.  

“I’ve been a medical freedom advocate for my entire career and have fought for bodily autonomy, and I trust women’s maternal instincts,” he wrote.  

“What if the baby has some fatal condition that ensures it will survive just hours or days after birth in intense suffering? Can we, should we, legislate such painful decisions and take them away from the mother? Is a bureaucrat or judge better equipped than the baby’s own mother to decide?” 

Kennedy’s campaign also released a statement explaining that he had misunderstood the questions asked by the reporter, blaming the miscommunication on the “crowded” and “noisy” fair hall.   

Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life Action, said the organization is looking forward to speaking with Kennedy about his promise to “make America healthy again” and how his plan to do so addresses abortion.  

“RFK Jr. has a proven track record of holding health care bureaucrats accountable for putting public health first, over political interests,” Hawkins told The Hill. “There is no more weaponized agency than HHS, where whatever is good for the Democrats’ big donor — Planned Parenthood — gets fast-tracked.” 

Kennedy will need to win the trust of some more skeptical members of the anti-abortion movement if he wants to secure his confirmation as HHS secretary, however. 

“I admire RFK Jr., but he won’t get confirmed if he clings to abortion after Kamala Harris’s historic failure to sell it as a winning issue. … Just as he bailed on other out-of-touch Democratic positions, he must abandon his outdated stance on abortion,” said Shawn Carney, the CEO and president of 40 Days for Life.   

“You can’t crusade against Snickers bars in the name of health while discarding the unborn. It’s inconsistent, unbelievable, and out of step with the pro-life majority,” he added.