Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the preparations, personnel decisions and policy deliberations of Donald Trump’s transition. POLITICO Pro subscribers receive a version of this newsletter first. Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Eli | Email Lauren | Email Lisa | Email Megan Anti-abortion groups stood by DONALD TRUMP this election cycle through disappointment after disappointment , confident he would once again reward their loyalty by stocking his Cabinet with staunch abortion opponents who would advance their agenda. They’ve cheered many of his picks this week — particularly longtime anti-abortion stalwart Sen. MARCO RUBIO to lead the State Department — but their top priority has always been Health and Human Services secretary. Trump’s Thursday night pick of onetime Democrat ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR. felt like a slap to the face for some on the right, including MIKE PENCE, Trump’s former vice president and an anti-abortion crusader. And while other allies in the anti-abortion movement had more muted responses, they’re expressing a mix of disappointment and concern. Pence went so far as to call on Senate Republicans to reject the nomination, warning that Kennedy would be “the most pro-abortion Republican appointed secretary of HHS in modern history.” Even after achieving their goal of overturning Roe during Trump’s first term, many conservatives worry Kennedy won’t prioritize policies rolling back access to the procedure — citing his all-over-the-place record on the issue, which drew criticism from MAGA world throughout the campaign, as a reason not to count him as a dependable ally. "There's no question that we need a pro-life HHS secretary, and of course, we have concerns about Robert F. Kennedy Jr,” said SBA Pro-Life President MARJORIE DANNENFELSER, adding that her organization will continue to advocate for the reestablishment of a “baseline” set of anti-abortion policies from Trump’s first term. Before suspending his own presidential campaign and throwing his support to Trump, Kennedy took a variety of contradictory positions on abortion. He hired anti-abortion activist ANGELA STANTON KING and called for a national ban on the procedure at 15 weeks of pregnancy, then disavowed that stance. He has both said that “every abortion is a tragedy ” and that he identifies as “pro-choice” and he believes “it is always the woman’s right to choose” — linking the stance in interviews to his anti-vaccine activism under the umbrella of “medical freedom.” In late April, after reporters repeatedly pressed him, he added an abortion policy plan to his campaign website, proposing that funds now going to support Ukraine be redirected to “a massive subsidized daycare initiative” that “will dramatically reduce abortion in this country.” The plan included no details about how Kennedy would approach state or federal efforts to restrict abortion. Now, several anti-abortion advocates are lamenting that others rumored to be in the running for HHS secretary who have executive branch experience and anti-abortion policy records — like former Housing and Urban Development Secretary BEN CARSON or former Trump administration health official ROGER SEVERINO — were passed over. “A lot of my friends [said during the campaign], ‘Hey, look, you may not like President Trump. You may think that he's not suited for the office. But think of the people who he will appoint. Think of what a pro-life HHS secretary can do with the way that they interpret regulations and executive actions,'” said PATRICK BROWN, a fellow at the conservative Ethics and Public Policy Center. “But based on the things we know RFK cares about, abortion is going to be just way down on the list.” But even conservatives irate about the pick say they need to tread carefully, and don’t want to anger Trump and MAGA world by openly fighting Kennedy’s nomination. And some anti-abortion advocates remain hopeful they can work with Kennedy on implementing federal restrictions if they can tailor their messaging to appeal to his interests. “The smart move here is not to try to derail his nomination. The smart move is to try to get senators to pressure him during the confirmation process to adopt the kind of pro-life policies that we had under the first Trump administration,” said one Republican strategist who consults with anti-abortion groups, granted anonymity to speak candidly about the appointment. “I think that there’s a real great opportunity to get him to do the right thing.” Students for Life of America hopes to seize that opportunity by pitching Kennedy on its theory that abortion pills are contaminating the U.S. water supply, and the group is working to set up a meeting to argue to the former environmental advocate that its efforts to cut off patient access to the drugs fit into his broader vision. "We look forward to talking with RFK Jr. about our 'Make America Healthy Again' plans to address abortion water pollution," said KRISTAN HAWKINS , president of Students for Life, adding: “RFK Jr. has a proven track record of holding healthcare bureaucrats accountable for putting public health first, over political interests.” MESSAGE US — Are you MIKE PENCE? We want to hear from you. And we’ll keep you anonymous! Email us at westwingtips@politico.com. Did someone forward this email to you? Subscribe here!
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