Former Vice President Mike Pence is positioning himself as a “constructive force for the conservative agenda” during President Donald Trump’s second term as one of the few Republicans willing to challenge him.
“Well, for me, it’s always principles first. It’s not personal,” Pence said in an interview with the Associated Press.
Despite publicly falling out with Trump in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, Pence said he would support the new Trump administration on issues he agreed with, but would challenge others.
Pence’s political advocacy group, Advancing American Freedom, spent nearly $1 million on ads opposing Trump’s newly confirmed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
DOGE MUST ‘DEFUND’ PLANNED PARENTHOOD, MIKE PENCE’S WATCHDOG GROUP URGES MUSK
Former Vice President Mike Pence during the 60th presidential inauguration in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2025. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The former vice president said he and those who work for him received “a lot of quiet encouragement” in opposing Kennedy. Pence described finding it necessary to speak out on finding the “nomination of an abortion rights supporter to be secretary of HHS to be a dramatic departure from 50 years of strong pro-life leadership at HHS under Republican administrations.”
Asked why Republicans might be reluctant to oppose Trump publicly, Pence said, “I never speculate on motives. You know, I’m not new to town. I’ve waged lonely battles before.”
“But you know, you have to be willing to step out and lead,” the former vice president said. “My hope is that when the next issue of life comes up, that people will have been encouraged, emboldened to know that they’re not alone.”
Regarding RFK Jr.’s nomination, Advancing American Freedom President Tim Chapman told Fox News Digital that the group believed “it would be an abdication of duty and responsibility if nobody said anything about the…
