Vice President J.D. Vance will be the featured speaker next week at the 2026 March for Life rally, marking his second consecutive in-person appearance at the annual pro-life gathering on the National Mall.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Vice President Vance back to the March for Life this year,” March for Life President Jennie Bradley Lichter said Friday. “His presence at this year’s march underscores the importance of this iconic event and the centrality of the pro-life movement to a healthy conservative coalition.”
Organizers also announced Friday that House Speaker Mike Johnson will appear at the Jan. 23 rally in person, joining speakers including Rep. Chris Smith, New Jersey Republican.
The pro-life movement’s biggest get-together of the year is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m., with the march to follow at noon. The theme for this year’s march is “Life is a Gift.”
“Vice President Vance is grateful to the tens of thousands of Americans who travel to the National Mall each year to speak out in support of life, and looks forward to joining them,” Mr. Vance’s office said in a statement, as reported by Catholic news outlet EWTN News Nightly.
President Trump, who became the first sitting U.S. president to address the crowd in person in 2020, delivered a video address at last year’s address, although organizers didn’t say whether he would do the same this year.
Pro-lifers have lauded Mr. Trump as the most pro-life president in history, crediting him with nominating the conservative Supreme Court justices who swung the balance in favor of overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision legalizing abortion nationwide.
Even so, tensions have emerged in recent months between the movement and the White House.
Pro-life advocates and Republicans are frustrated by the lack of action on the Food and Drug Administration’s promised review of the abortion pill’s safety, as well as whether the Hyde Amendment will be on the table in Congress’ health care negotiations.
Mr. Trump told Republican lawmakers this month that “you got to be a little flexible” on the Hyde Amendment, which prevents federal funding from being used to fund abortion, prompting pro-life advocates and Republicans to insist that there can be no wiggle room on Hyde.
None of that is expected to stop pro-lifers from giving a warm welcome to Mr. Vance, a staunch pro-life advocate, at the annual march and rally.
“We are honored that he will join us in standing up for the unborn alongside our marchers from all over the country,” Ms. Lichter said.
