(LifeSiteNews) — Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has said he won’t “allow” a compromise on the Hyde Amendment after Trump’s suggestion that Republicans may need to be “flexible” on federal abortion funding.
Johnson told reporters on Wednesday, “We are not going to change the standard that we’re not going to use taxpayer funding for abortion. I’m just not going to allow that to happen.”
Most other Republican lawmakers seem to be standing firm on keeping the Hyde Amendment in place as well. Rep. Mark Harris (R-NC), told the Daily Signal, “All the folks I hear from are very committed to Hyde.”
“The Speaker, I think, is very committed to Hyde. So I don’t envision anything coming to the floor that would in any way impede the protection of life,” Harris added.
As previously covered by LifeSiteNews, Trump told a Tuesday gathering of House Republicans “you’ve got to be a little flexible on Hyde” for the sake of reaching a deal in the narrowly-divided Congress on health care reform, an issue which has picked up steam in recent weeks due to the recent expiration of subsidies under the so-called Affordable Care Act (better known as Obamacare).
Pro-life leaders were quick to react with thundering criticism.
READ: Pro-life leaders slam Trump for urging GOP lawmakers to be ‘flexible’ on Hyde Amendment
For decades, the Hyde Amendment has traditionally been included every year in federal budgets with little objection. It forbids most taxpayer dollars from directly funding abortions except for cases of rape, incest, or supposed threat to a mother’s life. Hyde is estimated to have saved more than 2.5 million lives since its adoption in 1976, according to data reviewed by the pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute in September 2025.
A statement by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt denied any change in policy and touted the second Trump administration’s record so far of opposing taxpayer funding of abortion, but did not rule out some sort of compromise on Hyde in health care negotiations, leaving the controversy unresolved.
