Trump Says Republicans Should Be ‘Flexible’ On Rule That Bars Taxpayer-Funded Abortions

President Donald Trump suggested Tuesday that Republicans should be “flexible” when it comes to the Hyde Amendment, a policy that prevents taxpayer funding for abortions. 

Trump made the comments during a speech to congressional lawmakers gathered at the Trump-Kennedy Performing Arts Center for the House GOP Member Retreat. While discussing negotiations over health care policy, Trump said that they may have to reconsider their strong stance on the policy. 

“You have to be a little flexible on Hyde, you know that. You’ve got to be a little flexible,” Trump said. “You’ve got to use ingenuity. You’ve got to work. We’re all big fans of everything.”

The Hyde Amendment has become a focal point in negotiations over proposed extensions of Obamacare subsidies. Most Republicans have said that any extension of health care subsidies is a non-starter if the Hyde Amendment is not applied. 

“Taxpayer $ should never be used to fund abortion & I’m opposed to any plan that doesn’t include strong protections for the Hyde amendment,” Montana GOP Senator Steve Daines said last month on X. 

When passed by Democrats, Obamacare did not include the Hyde Amendment and allowed some taxpayer funding for abortions. Historically, the Hyde Amendment has been attached to the Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations Act, banning funding for abortions and health insurance plans that cover abortions in their policies. 

Trump’s suggestion quickly drew criticism from major pro-life groups like Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. 

“For decades, opposition to taxpayer funding of abortion and support for the Hyde Amendment has been an unshakeable bedrock principle and a minimum standard in the Republican Party. To suggest Republicans should be ‘flexible’ is an abandonment of this decades-long commitment. If Republicans abandon Hyde, they are sure to lose this November,” said SBA President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “President Trump and congressional Republicans must follow through, not abandon, this commitment.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for clarification on the president’s comments. 

Alabama Republican Rep. Robert Aderholt on Tuesday suggested that he would not compromise on the Hyde Amendment. 

“The Hyde Amendment has saved over 2.6 million innocent lives,” he said. “My commitment to these protections is unchanging.”

Upon taking office, Trump signed an executive order last January to enforce the Hyde Amendment and crack down on taxpayer funding for abortion. 

“The previous administration disregarded this established, commonsense policy by embedding forced taxpayer funding of elective abortions in a wide variety of Federal programs,” Trump wrote. “It is the policy of the United States, consistent with the Hyde Amendment, to end the forced use of Federal taxpayer dollars to fund or promote elective abortion.”

In recent weeks, pro-life groups have pushed for the Trump administration to reverse Biden-era rules at the FDA that allowed abortion pills to be sent through the mail with no in-person doctor visits. The mail-in abortions have fueled a rise in abortions despite the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court.