Instead of softening their stance on the issue of life, many in the party have instead shown greater resolve, Suzanne Bowdey, editorial director for The Washington Stand, said on Washington Watch Wednesday.
When Republican lawmakers gathered for a policy retreat earlier this month, the president told them they should be “a little flexible on the Hyde Amendment. "You got to work something. You got to use ingenuity," the president told them.
The Hyde Amendment, which prohibits taxpayer-funded abortion, has become a central focus as lawmakers consider plans for healthcare.
Republicans would like to see stronger Hyde Amendment-type restrictions — which would bar federal funds from supporting insurance plans that include abortion coverage — as a condition for any health-care subsidy extension.
Democrats have balked at new restrictions.
Enhanced subsidies for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) expired last year. Without the enhanced subsidies, many people who used to pay very low or even $0 premiums are now facing much higher costs. For example, a freelance worker’s monthly premiums went from about $350 to nearly $500.
Analysis shows that average ACA marketplace premiums for subsidized enrollees have roughly doubled in 2026 compared with the prior year because the extra assistance has lapsed.
With that political fight as a backdrop, Trump framed flexibility on Hyde as a way to urge Republicans to find their way to a healthcare bill.
He told lawmakers that addressing healthcare costs effectively could help Republicans “own” the issue ahead of the midterm elections — suggesting that rigid adherence to Hyde might impede progress on a deal.
Find another lamb
The president's pitch didn't work. Pro-life advocates, who are key political allies of Trump, stated bluntly they aren’t willing for their cause to be sacrificed along the way.
“Despite all the heartburn he's caused, and how distressing that comment is, I actually think it has served an important purpose, which is that it has rallied Republicans together on an issue that we've seen mixed messages and hesitance from the Republican Party since Dobbs,” Bowdey told show host Tony Perkins.
In a 6–3 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in 2022, the Court held that the U.S. Constitution does not confer a right to abortion, effectively ending nearly 50 years of federal constitutional protection for abortion rights.
“You're seeing from (House Speaker) Mike Johnson, on down to just regular rank and file Republicans, saying ‘we won't stand for this,’” Bowdey said.
The Daily Signal reported late last week that the Trump administration may be walking back the president’s flexibility comments. One source reported hearing from the administration that it has been “inundated” with messages from the pro-life community in support of Hyde.
A source familiar with the White House’s thinking says that now that the administration has received the message that pro-lifers will not compromise on Hyde, the pro-life movement is more concerned about the Senate compromising on the policy, The Daily Signal reported.
Last week, 17 House Republicans supported Democrat legislation that would extend the expired subsidies.
Trump’s transactional nature, that everything can be negotiated and a compromise reached, leads to an inability to read the room on this matter, Bowdey said.
“He’s not a career politician. He doesn't understand the Republican Party, and its history on abortion,” she said.
Not the first row between Trump, pro-life leaders
Trump signed an executive order his first week in office titled “Reinforcing the Hyde Amendment,” but this is not the first time he’s come under fire from pro-life groups and voices.
With Trump as its candidate, the Republican National Committee’s platform in 2024 significantly watered down the party’s support for life in the political arena.
The Hyde Amendment, which took effect in 1980, was not mentioned.
The call to defund Planned Parenthood, the country’s leading provider of abortion services, also was not mentioned.
“What is a party if there are no guiding principles that are uniting everyone and tethering everyone to the same values? It’s not a party anymore,” Bowdey said.
The opposition to federal funding for abortion is an “83% issue” for Republicans, Bowdey said, but it was once a place for common ground between the parties.
“The fact that it’s not now speaks volumes about the Democrat Party,” she said.
