Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said Tuesday he supports Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Donald Trump's pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, adding Kennedy assured him of upholding the president-elect's stance that abortion should be left to the states.
"The big thing about abortion is that he's telling everybody, he said, 'Listen, whatever President Trump wants … I'm going to back him 100%,'" Tuberville told reporters after meeting with Kennedy at his Capitol office.
"Of course, President Trump is for the three [abortion] exceptions [rape, incest, and life of the mother], we've all heard that."
Kennedy, a former Democrat and independent presidential candidate, has long been pro-abortion. The issue, among others, could make or break his nomination when the Republican-controlled Senate holds his confirmation hearing after it is seated Jan. 3.
"I said, you know, in the past, you've been pro-abortion," Tuberville said. "He said, basically, he and President Trump sat down and talked about it, and both of them came to an agreement that, hey, [Roe v. Wade] is gone, [the issue has] gone back to the states to let the people vote on it, and that's been mine all along. I'm pro-life but I am glad the American citizens have a chance to vote in their state, and he's the same way."
Tuberville said he and Kennedy did not discuss possibly regulating the distribution of abortion drugs mifepristone and misoprostol, which would fall under HHS' purview. Medication abortions accounted for 63% of all U.S. abortions in 2023, according to the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute.
"I'm sure somebody will ask him [about it] down the way," Tuberville said.