Two of President-elect Trump’s key cabinet selections have drawn praise from pro-life and pro-family groups.
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala), Trump’s pick as U.S. attorney general, and Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), Trump’s selection for secretary of Health and Human Services, would play important roles in restoring and safeguarding religious liberty protections, conservative groups predicted.
The American Center for Law and Justice’s Jay Sekulow said of Sessions: “As attorney general, Sen. Sessions will bring stability and credibility back to a troubled Justice Department under the Obama Administration.”
Penny Nance, CEO and president of Concerned Women for America, said in a statement on the group’s website that attacks on freedom of conscience by the current Justice Department “must be at the top of the list” of priorities if Sessions is confirmed—something Nance said CWA would work hard to see happen.
Sessions has a strong pro-life voting record. He is a former U.S. attorney and also served as Alabama’s state attorney general from 1994-96. Sessions is expected to be confirmed after Trump takes office, but his colleague Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has warned that Democrats will ask tough questions in confirmation hearings.
If confirmed as HHS secretary, Price would head an agency that has been hostile to pro-life rights of conscience in the implementation of Obamacare and in forcing taxpayers to fund abortion coverage through end-around maneuvers.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List, said: “Rep. Tom Price … helped lead the charge to defund Planned Parenthood through budget reconciliation. … As HHS secretary, he will play a key role in developing a robust health care reform proposal that protects life and consciences, while promoting options for low-income individuals and families.”