WASHINGTON — The four most powerful Republicans in Washington addressed the nation’s largest annual anti-abortion rally Friday, vowing to inject new energy into the abortion debate.

“In my second term, we will again stand proudly for families and for life,” President Donald Trump said in a video message to attendees of the March for Life. “We will protect the historic gains we have made and stop the radical Democrat push for a federal right to unlimited abortion on demand.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., addressed the thousands of attendees in person, as did Vice President JD Vance in his first public remarks since Monday’s inauguration.

The four political leaders offered a united message: that the fight to end abortion and promote policies to grow families was not over. Since the Supreme Court’s June 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade, national conservatives have struggled to align on whether to prioritize the issue, relegate it to state policymakers or focus politically on other social issues.

“I know that some days that fighting for the right to life can feel like an uphill battle,” said Thune. “The fight may be long, but we have the truth on our side, and I am confident that at the end of the day truth will win.”

Early Friday, supporters of the movement lined the space between the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial waving signs with messages like “Defund Planned Parenthood” or “Everyone Deserves a Birthday” and “Make Abortion Gone Again.” The annual event, timed to commemorate the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, attracts a large youth contingent, and a number of attendees held up banners celebrating Trump’s reelection.

Trump spoke before rallygoers in 2020, becoming the first sitting president to do so. But he focused his 2024 campaign on other issues, repeatedly calling for abortion regulation to be left at the state level.

This week anti-abortion activists received their first assurances that abortion-related issues continue to be a priority. On Thursday, Trump issued pardons to 23 activists who’d been convicted of violating a 1994 law that prohibits physical intimidation and harm to visitors at abortion clinics and places of worship. The law also protects the buildings in question.

The administration also announced it will not direct the FBI to raid the homes of any anti-abortion activists or arrest them for anti-abortion-related protests.

“This new White House has already shown its resolve,” said Johnson. “My friends, House and Senate Republicans are committed to protecting innocent life.”

Vance, in his speech, criticized how the nation and the federal government have “not yet stepped up” to help with the demands of raising a family. He reiterated that Trump plans to double the child tax credit.

“Let me say very simply, I want more babies in the United States of America,” said Vance. “It is the task of our government to make it easier for young moms and dads to afford to have kids.”

Jeanne Mancini, president of March for Life, pointed out that White House Domestic Policy Council Director Vince Haley and Deputy Director Heidi Overton, as well as Wells King, the special assistant to the president, were also at the event.

“We need to continue to call on Congress and the White House to prioritize pro-life, pro-woman and pro-family policies so that one day soon abortion becomes unthinkable,” Mancini said.

In a separate interview Friday, Mancini expressed delight that “leadership is leaning into this, particularly after a few years where there’s been so much confusion in the cultural reverberation of the overturn of Roe.”

The days and sometimes weeks leading up to the annual march are typically marked by legislative messaging and policy announcements.

This week, both chambers voted on legislation that conservatives argue would protect infants born after attempted abortions. The measure passed the House but was blocked via a procedural vote in the Senate.

Rep. Christopher H. Smith, R-N.J., a longtime co-chair of the Pro-Life Caucus, called the event “an engraved invitation to each and every one of us to seriously recommit and rededicate ourselves” to the movement. He issued calls to action onstage to end “taxpayer subsidies to Planned Parenthood” and “exposing abortion methods which the other side never wants to talk about.”

For some lawmakers, this week also marks a change in how openly they’re messaging on this as a winning issue.

“I’m committed to supporting this fundamental issue in the Senate, and I’m proud of my 100% rating from the National Right to Life Committee,” Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said in a statement Friday ahead of the march.

In 2022, McConnell had shied away from portraying a unifying message for Republicans on the issue, saying most of the conference would prefer to leave it to the states.

Other lawmakers who appeared onstage Friday included Sens. James Lankford, R-Okla., Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, Katie Britt, R-Ala., Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., and Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., as well as Reps. Julie Fedorchak of North Dakota, Andy Harris of Maryland, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Bob Latta of Ohio, John McGuire of Virginia, Bob Onder of Missouri and Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, also a Republican, appeared alongside them, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also addressed the rally.

The march ended with a video featuring messages from 37 Senate Republicans in support of the yearly rally and its mission.

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