On Wednesday, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared in his first confirmation hearing to serve as President Donald Trump’s head of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Predictably, Kennedy was grilled in the hearing by Republicans over many of his liberal positions and pressed by Democrats for working with President Trump.
The issue of abortion was brought up in the hearing. Kennedy was a pro-abortion Democrat for many years.
Republican Sen. James Lankford (OK) stated at the hearing, “We have some disagreements…on the issue of life and when life begins,” pointing out that Kennedy has been “outspoken on that.”
Lankford said that Trump said that Title X, the federal program that funds family planning, will not fund or promote abortions.
“He [Trump] made that very clear in the first administration. Obviously that’s his decision to make again on that…he’s made a lot of public statements on that. The Biden administration not only reversed that…they went one step the other direction,” Lankford said, pointing out that the Biden administration stripped funding from Oklahoma when they would not promote abortion.
“How are you going to handle Title X on that?” Lankford asked.
“I’m going to support President Trump’s policies on Title X. I agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy. I agree with him that we cannot be a moral nation if we have 1.2 million abortions a year. I agree with him that the states control abortion. President Trump has told me that he wants to end late-term abortions and that he wants to protect contraceptives and that he wants to end federal funding for abortions here or abroad,” Kennedy explained.
"I serve at the pleasure of the president. I'm going to implement his policies,” he concluded.
LANKFORD: "We have some disagreements...on the issue of life."
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) January 29, 2025
RFK Jr: "I serve at the pleasure of the president. I'm going to implement his policies." pic.twitter.com/KdiCiNhGd1
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