White House Walks Back Trump Comments After Abortion Blowback

The White House is pushing back on any notion that President Donald Trump is changing his stance on the Hyde Amendment after telling Republicans to “be flexible” on the anti-abortion provision.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Trump’s support for the Hyde Amendment in the past, which remains a point of contention in the health care fight on Capitol Hill. The Hyde Amendment prevents taxpayer dollars from funding abortions.

“The president did not change the administration’s policy,” Leavitt said at a press briefing on Wednesday. “It was President Trump who signed an executive order protecting the Hyde Amendment. It’s the Trump administration that has taken multiple actions on various fronts to ensure that taxpayer dollars are not funding the practice of abortion.”

Leavitt added that Trump’s comments urging flexibility were directed to both Republicans and Democrats to compromise on health care policy, as lawmakers try to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies.

Trump made his comments about the Hyde Amendment to House Republicans at their retreat at the Kennedy Center on Tuesday.

His directive prompted pushback from conservative Republicans, who view the Hyde Amendment as a red line.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) offered rare criticism of Trump’s comments.

“We are not going to change the standard that we’re not going to use taxpayer funding for abortion,” Johnson, a staunch anti-abortion advocate, told reporters on Wednesday. “I’m just not going to allow that to happen.”

The House is set to vote on House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ (D-N.Y.) discharge petition to extend ACA subsidies for three years on Thursday. Four Republicans broke ranks with leadership late last year to force a vote on the ACA extensions.

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