Moderate Republicans are expected to be the biggest obstacle for anti-abortion advocates seeking to strip federal funding from Planned Parenthood in an upcoming reconciliation package, and some have already begun expressing opposition.
The issue of defunding Planned Parenthood was briefly raised during a closed-door meeting Tuesday evening between Speaker Mike Johnson, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, and several moderate Republicans, as they discussed potential Medicaid cuts, according to two sources familiar with the discussion, NOTUS reported.
One source said that Reps. Mike Lawler, Brian Fitzpatrick, and Jen Kiggans were among the moderate Republicans who made it clear to House GOP leadership that they oppose including a provision to cut federal funding for Planned Parenthood in a reconciliation bill.
When asked by NOTUS whether defunding Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers had been discussed during the meeting, Speaker Mike Johnson declined to comment directly, saying as he left his office that it “was not on our agenda.” Other Republicans were similarly cautious when questioned about the topic after the meeting.
“That was sort of a closed-door discussion, I’m not going to go into that now,” Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) told reporters.
According to another source who spoke to NOTUS,