Some centrist Republican lawmakers have signaled opposition to including provisions defunding Planned Parenthood in sweeping legislation intended to advance President Trump’s second-term agenda.
A GOP aide familiar with the House deliberations surrounding Trump’s “one, big beautiful” bill told the Post that moderate members of the caucus are opposed to language directing cuts to the abortion and reproductive healthcare provider that other lawmakers hope to include in the massive reconciliation package.
Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Jen Kiggans (R-Va.) were among the lawmakers that voiced opposition to Planned Parenthood cuts during a closed-door meeting Tuesday that included House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), NOTUS reported on Wednesday.
“I think there’s other policy areas that we need to focus on,” Fitzpatrick told the outlet ahead of the meeting, noting that he planned to bring up the rumblings around cuts targeting abortion providers.
“We need simplicity in this bill,” he added.
Lawler expressed concern that potential cuts to the nonprofit and conservative lightning rod would impact the ability of women to access health care.
“Obviously, Planned Parenthood does provide a lot of services outside of abortion-related services,” the congressman noted, telling NOTUS that he is “not for taking away people’s health care.”
A Kiggans spokesperson told the outlet that the congresswoman “is proudly pro-life and firmly opposes any federal funding for abortion.”
“[Kiggans] attended a closed-door policy discussion with House leadership and Republican colleagues focused on Medicaid reform within the broader reconciliation process. The Congresswoman supports thoughtful, targeted Medicaid reforms that strengthen the program, preserve its integrity, and ensure it serves those who it was originally intended to help,” the spokesperson added.
Meanwhile, Johnson contended that defunding Planned Parenthood “was not on our agenda.”
The House speaker, however, told a conservative audience last week that “big abortion” would be targeted for cuts in the megabill.
“In the weeks ahead, the House is gonna be working on the one big, beautiful bill,” Johnson said during a speech at the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America gala. “We’re absolutely making it clear to everybody that this bill is going to redirect funds away from big abortion and to federally qualified health centers.”
The Hyde Amendment already prevents taxpayer dollars from being directly used to cover the cost of abortions.
Federal money Planned Parenthood receives to cover other services – through the Medicaid program, for example – could be targeted in an effort to indirectly deliver a blow to the abortion provider’s bottom line.
The reconciliation bill is expected to include provisions extending Trump’s first-term tax cuts, increasing funding for border security and raising the nation’s debt ceiling.
As part of the scramble to pass the legislation by the Fourth of July, House lawmakers are looking for ways to cut between $800 million to $1.5 trillion in spending to offset the cost of Trump’s priorities.
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