It’s understandable that many pro-life people have questions about president-elect Donald Trump and what to expect from his administration. He certainly doesn’t fit the mold we have come to expect from our presidents.
My judgement regarding his effectiveness is based on what I’ve witnessed so far, plus the reaction of his political foes. On BOTH counts I’m very encouraged about the next four years.
This presidential election cycle has been anything but conventional. That’s in large part why I was one of the few that predicted Mr. Trump would prevail. Even my own staff thought I was being overly optimistic.
Trump’s outrageous statements and behavior—both before and during the campaign—gave voters good reason to doubt his worthiness of being President of the United States. Now that he is President-Elect Donald Trump, we need to give him a fair chance at coming through with his promises to further protect America’s unborn children.
And he’s off to a good start. Look at his cabinet appointments.
Mr. Trump has made some totally top-drawer selections of individuals who will surround and advise him. Let’s start with Chief of Staff. I know Republican Party Chair Reince Priebus to be dependably pro-life. He has a track record defending the unborn.
Steve Bannon, CEO of Breitbart News, was named chief strategist who is rock-solid on abortion, namely his disdain for the “Goliath” of the abortion industry. “Planned Parenthood has since 1970 performed 7 million abortions, comfortably surpassing Hitler according to its own annual reports,” he wrote. “Planned Parenthood has amassed a Third Reich-style death count completely legally and while pocketing half a billion dollars a year to do so.”
Sure, Mr. Bannon has ruffled more than a few feathers, but who do you want bending the president’s ear when Mr. Trump is getting bombarded to nominate a “moderate” Supreme Court justice or to back off ending tax funding of Planned Parenthood? We desperately need someone with a spine of steel (as well as another part of the male anatomy) encouraging the president to forge ahead in making the hard but necessary decisions. Priebus and Bannon will make a good team.
Then there’s Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions who has a solid pro-life voting record. But even more convincing for me was hearing former Reagan Attorney General Edwin Meese say, “I can think of no better attorney general than Jeff Sessions.” This gives me reason for real hope, not the fake Obama kind. Another matter of great importance is that Senator Sessions highly reveres the constitution, which will be his rudder during the political storms that rage in the West Wing.
Georgia Congressman Tom Price has been named to direct the Department of Health and Human Services, an area that often deals with the life issues. Dr. Price, an orthopedic surgeon, has a 100% pro-life voting record and not only opposes Obamacare but has consistently introduced detailed legislation to replace it. He’s the exact person we need to extract this abortion-riddled bureaucracy from America’s healthcare system.
A critical appointment is America’s ambassador the United Nations. Every president has the ability to mold the American UN delegation to match his philosophy. The UN has been a devastatingly effective tool to browbeat, coerce or outright force pro-life nations to end the protection of their greatest natural resource—unborn babies. President-elect Trump has asked pro-life South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley to fill this position.
Betsy DeVos has been tapped for Secretary of Education. This bloated bureaucracy has traditionally been used to promote a pro-abortion agenda in our nation’s schools. That may change with Mrs. DeVos at the helm. The Dick and Betsy DeVos Foundation have been strong supporters of Americans United for Life, Right to Life of Michigan and Michigan’s Foundation for Traditional Values. It appears she has the value system needed to take on the pro-abortion National Education Association.
Less is known about Seema Verma from Indiana who’s been selected to be Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. However, my pro-life colleagues with Indiana Right to Life say that she was recommended by vice president-elect Mike Pence and that he’s never failed them before on staffing issues.
Another encouraging sign is the response of the pro-abortion media to Mr. Trump’s picks. They’re positively enraged and it shows by their editorials that drip with contempt for our future president and his choices. But the president-elect isn’t finished. Other names I’m hearing about but haven’t been finalized provide even more encouragement.
2017 is the year we can realistically end tax funding of Planned Parenthood. Central to this is having a solid, dependable team surrounding the president when the pressure mounts—and it certainly will when it comes to the abortion issue.
Please be in prayer for the new president and his evolving team. They will be on the front lines of the war on social issues.
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