Advocates said they are frustrated and resigned to White House‘s inaction on abortion in the wake of a new report that the Department of Justice is standing down on the issue until after the midterm elections.
Sources familiar with discussions between the administration and anti-abortion groups told the Washington Examiner they have little confidence that significant action will materialize even after November and said they have heard White House chief of staff Susie Wiles has been an obstacle to more aggressive action.
This “is exactly what we’re hearing, that Susie’s been a bit of a roadblock,” said one source familiar with the matter.
The White House denied a report Friday from the Washington Sun that Wiles instructed Attorney General Todd Blanche and the Justice Department to move slowly on abortion-related matters before the midterm elections out of concern that aggressive action could alienate voters Republicans need to retain control of Congress.
“This is completely false,” White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis told the Washington Examiner. “These conversations never occurred between White House officials and DOJ officials.”
But multiple anti-abortion leaders told the Washington Examiner that the administration’s posture matches what they have been hearing privately: action later, not now. The stance has left left some anti-abortion champions skeptical that the White House will ultimately deliver at all.
“We keep hearing about the FDA’s agency review [of abortion pills], but … I find it very accurate to say that the DOJ has, in fact, just been a friend to the abortion industry by saying ‘let’s just leave everything alone until later,'” said an anti-abortion leader. “That is No. 1, a 100% mistake, and that is very fixable.”
Another warned that the administration is putting its relationship with a core Republican constituency at risk. Several note the lack of meaningful mention of limiting abortion at the Republican National Committee’s midterm convention last month. Others question why Vice President JD Vance has not put Planned Parenthood under a microscope as part of his White House anti-fraud task force.
“If you’re building a coalition, this is something that will lead to people looking for other options,” another anti-abortion leader warned. “You’re destabilizing your coalition that you’re going to need going forward.”
The frustration reflects a growing sense of resignation among anti-abortion groups that the first half of Trump’s second term has not produced the federal restrictions they expected after Republicans won unified control of Washington.
“Nothing has changed about the way the White House is approaching abortion. They’re just finally saying the quiet part out loud,” said Gavin Oxley, the external affairs director for Americans United for Life. “This means our operating strategy hasn’t changed either. Push for protections now but plan for the sprint after the political hurdles are cleared.”
Texas Right to Life President John Seago acknowledged anti-abortion groups have limited leverage over the administration because neither supporting Democrats nor sitting out the election is a realistic option for the movement. Underscoring the point, House Democrats released a health policy agenda this week that calls for reestablishing “a federal right to abortion care and end restrictions that prevent people covered through federal health programs from receiving abortion coverage.”
“The Democrat Party has embraced a ridiculous position on abortion and has been promoting abortion at any cost, and so there is no interest at all to sit out the election,” said Seago before invoking Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico. “One of the Democrats running for our U.S. Senate spot is actually justifying abortion by twisting Christian teaching and twisting the Bible, and that is not going to fool anybody in the pro-life movement.”
That frustration has been building over a series of policy fights in which anti-abortion groups say Republicans have failed to deliver.
Anti-abortion groups have repeatedly voiced frustration that Trump and the GOP-controlled Congress are allowing abortion access to spread in the nation four years after Roe v. Wade was overturned. Although Planned Parenthood lost access to federal Medicaid reimbursements for a year through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, its access to federal funding was restored in July, disappointing social conservatives. Congressional Republicans have been noncommittal on including language to defund Planned Parenthood in future budget reconciliation bills.
“Pro-life voters want a return on investment like every other part of the coalition, and you juxtapose this with the fact that the Democrats came out this week, I believe, with the first 100 hours, and had several things in it about abortion,” said Kristi Hamrick, vice president of Students for Life of America.
As Trump headed to Alabama on Friday, he said his message to the anti-abortion community was “we love them. We love everybody.”
One anti-abortion group praised the Trump administration for at least not defending Biden-era rules governing abortion pills.
“We are glad that the Trump Administration knows that the Biden Administration unlawfully allowed abortion pills to be mailed, putting women in harm’s way and at risk of being coerced into taking abortion pills against their will,” said Penny Nance, CEO and President of Concerned Women for America.
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But with frustration mounting over Trump’s second term, some anti-abortion leaders are already looking beyond his administration and toward the next fight over the direction of the Republican Party.
There’s “a lot of pressure on the next convention and on the next presidential candidate,” said Seago. “There is already talks about how do we restore the pro-life platform at the Republican national.”
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
