WASHINGTON >> His group spent nearly $1 million on ads opposing Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trump’s pick to lead the nation’s health agencies. He’s delivering speeches urging the president to stand with longstanding foreign allies and lobbying members of Congress while aides write letters and opinion columns.

This weekend, he posted an article he penned more than a decade ago on the limits of presidential power after Trump claimed, “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.”

Mike Pence is emerging as one of the last Republicans in Washington willing to publicly criticize the new administration.

It’s an especially jarring role for the former vice president, whose refusal to break with Trump defined their time together in office until the two had a falling out over Trump’s refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election and his efforts to remain in power.

Pence and those who work with him at Advancing American Freedom, his political advocacy group, stress they are not looking to take on the “Never Trump” mantle. They intend to praise the administration when they agree with it, while raising concerns when they don’t, advocating for longtime conservative principles that have fallen out of favor as Trump’s “Make America Great Again” brand of populism has taken hold.

“We’re calling balls and strikes here,” Pence said.

Pence opposed Kennedy — who has since been confirmed as secretary of health and human services — due to Kennedy’s past comments voicing support for abortion rights. His group is now lobbying against Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Trump’s pick for labor secretary, accusing her of being pro-union, and plans to spend the coming months pushing to increase military spending, shrink the deficit and make permanent 2017 tax cuts, as well as trying to convince Trump to stop slapping tariffs on allies.

The AP recently sat down with Pence to discuss his efforts and his relationship with Trump — including a closely watched handshake at the funeral of President Jimmy Carter and his wife’s lack of reaction as the 45th and 47th president took his seat.

Here is a transcript of that conversation, which has been edited for space and clarity:

Q What do you see as your role and the role of AAF over the next four years?

A “To be an anchor to windward ... I came across that line I think in a Herman Melville book a long time ago.”

“The wind blows in the direction of more government. And I think it’s a role of conservatives to anchor the party so that when the wind blows, you put the anchor to windward so you stay grounded and hopefully do some small part to hold, you know, hold the ship of state on the principles that really minted my career in this movement.”

“A strong defense, to American leadership of the free world, limited government, fiscal responsibility, growth, the right to life, traditional values — those were the values that drew me to the Republican Party. And I still think that they are the timeless ideals of the party of Lincoln. And so I want to do my part, even as a former elected official, to use whatever remains of my bully pulpit to be a champion for those principles.”

Q How are you picking your battles?

A “Well, for me, it’s always principles first. It’s not personal. I went to the inauguration last month and I was very moved in the outpouring of kind words and expressions of appreciation from former colleagues, including many members of the new administration who I encountered in hallways. And I saw Secretary of State (Marco) Rubio. I gave him a hug, told him how proud I was of him. We had praised him from here when he was selected. I must have seen about or interacted with about half the incoming Cabinet.”

“We went to the Carter funeral. And the president and I had a very cordial exchange. You know, he was coming down the row in front of us at the National Cathedral and he said, ‘Hi, Mike.’ And I was standing up, extended my hand, and I said, ‘Congratulations, Mr. President.’ And I could see his countenance softened. And he said, ‘Thanks.’ And Melania reached out and I said, ‘Congratulations, Melania.’ And it was, you know, the people that know me know it’s not personal. I’ve long since forgiven the president for any differences that we had at the end of our administration. We still have those differences as the president still holds the view that, to my knowledge, that I had some authority that I did not have under the Constitution or laws of the country. But from my heart, I’ve prayed often for the president.”

“And so, to answer your question, I think that the way we want to approach this is with integrity to principle. And I’m very encouraged. I think the Trump administration is off to a great start ... I’m very pleased about the president undoing Biden’s border policies and putting back into place the policies that we had negotiated and established that secured the border. But you know, with regard to the nomination of RFK ... for me, it would begin and end with the right to life ... I saw 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. So we thought it was important to speak out. And we got a lot of quiet encouragement about that.”

Q Quiet encouragement?

A “Well, we got a lot of quiet encouragement from people that, for whatever reason, didn’t feel compelled to join us in that chorus. But I thought it was an important point for us to make. And, you know, we’ll continue to be a champion.”