Overview
- Sen. Josh Hawley, whose amendment was rejected Wednesday night in the Senate, is now calling on House Speaker Mike Johnson to move a funding ban through the House.
- He wants the ban folded into a budget reconciliation bill, a process that lets Congress pass tax and spending measures with a simple Senate majority and no filibuster.
- Hawley says a current federal restriction on payments to abortion and certain gender‑affirming care providers expires July 4 and he warns that inaction would let billions of Medicaid dollars reach those services.
- To support his push, he cites a GAO estimate that Planned Parenthood received more than $1.5 billion from Medicare and Medicaid from 2019 to 2021, a CWLAC report of roughly 40% growth in gender‑affirming care at its clinics, and the group’s annual report showing $832 million in taxpayer funding and 434,450 abortions in 2023–2024.
- The Senate vote drew GOP defections from Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, and the fight now shifts to House Republicans who must decide if their budget package will include a time‑limited funding ban that could pass under reconciliation rules.