Congress

Republicans in the dark on White House plan for Obamacare abortion restrictions

Published

3 months ago

November 26, 2025

The White House’s silence on how its health care plan deals with abortion is causing a headache for Republicans on Capitol Hill.

For many GOP members, an expansion of abortion restrictions in Obamacare is a must-have. But the White House’s decision to leave the issue out of its tentative framework caught Republicans off guard, leaving them in the dark about whether the president would ultimately stake out a position publicly, according to two aides granted anonymity to disclose private discussions.

The fight over the Hyde amendment, which bars federal funding for abortion, is just one of many landmines that need to be cleared before any health care deal to extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies can be reached. It also comes on top of GOP backlash to other aspects of the White House’s health policy framework that leaked Sunday.

“No Republican has voted for Obamacare or an Obamacare extension or expansion,” said a senior Senate Republican aide, granted anonymity to speak candidly. “Asking members to do that and not including Hyde would be impossible for many.”

The White House did not respond to requests for comment on the president’s stance.

The proposal the administration had planned to roll out this week consisted of a two-year extension of the ACA’s enhanced subsidies with new limitations favored by conservatives, such as a cutoff for people with higher incomes and a requirement that everyone pay a minimum monthly premium. But the White House gave no indication of whether it endorsed GOP lawmakers’ demand to also prohibit any insurance plan that receives a federal subsidy from covering abortion services.

Gavin Oxley, a spokesperson with Americans United for Life, said it would be helpful for the White House to publicly lay out its position on the Hyde question to give lawmakers an idea of how to proceed.

Not weighing in now, or proceeding with a plan without abortion restrictions, “would ultimately fracture the wide-reaching coalition that got President Trump re-elected,” Oxley said.

“We believe the Administration and pro-life leaders in Congress will come to the table in good faith with a plan that includes Hyde,” he continued. “But should it not, we will be prepared to reject such a plan.”

House and Senate Republicans, as well as dozens of anti-abortion groups that havespent months lobbying Congress and the White House, oppose any extension of the subsidies that doesn’t bar all insurance plans in the individual market from covering abortion. One of the people granted anonymity to speak candidly said that including the abortion funding restrictions was a “red line” for a broad swath of Republicans.

“We don’t have any details on this plan, but Senator Young supports Hyde protections and believes they should apply to any taxpayer funded health care spending,” said Leah Selk, spokesperson for Republican Sen. Todd Young of Indiana.

The hard line for Republicans creates a narrow window for bipartisan agreement, if any, before the end of the year, when the subsidies are set to expire and cause premiums to skyrocket. Democrats, whose votes are needed to clear the filibuster in the Senate to advance most legislation, have declared that abortion restrictions would be a non-starter in ongoing negotiations.

“Instead of working with Democrats to fix the health care crisis they created, Republicans now want to hold women’s health care hostage and force their radical agenda on the American people,” said Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Finance Committee that has jurisdiction over much of the sprawling U.S. health system, in a recent floor speech. “I have one thing to say to that: not on my watch.”

Likely cognizant of this political reality, the White House’s decision to sidestep the abortion question was intended to allow the administration to avoid drawing attention to an issue that could have immediately jeopardized the plan’s viability, said a Republican aide with knowledge of the discussions – even if its silence has actually had the opposite effect.

“Look, it’s no secret that this administration is not rushing to put a lot of political capital on the issue of abortion if they can avoid it,” said Patrick Brown, a fellow with the conservative think tank Ethics and Public Policy Center, which has been part of the roiling debate over abortion restrictions in Obamacare. “It’s not something I think they have any interest in highlighting.”

The abortion standoff is just one of many factors complicating a proposed deal to extend insurance subsidies. Deep divisions remain around who should qualify for such subsidies, how generous they should be, and what kind of health services are covered.

Any agreement would need Trump’s blessing, giving Republicans political cover to vote for an extension of the health reform law they have raged against for more than a decade. But given this difficult landscape, conservative lobbyists are skeptical that passage is possible even if Trump endorsed abortion restrictions. Those in close contact with lawmakers say it’s unlikely an extension of the subsidies could win 60 votes in the Senate — or even 50.

“It’d be very difficult, even if they do it through reconciliation,” said Tom McClusky, the director of government affairs for Catholic Vote. “On the subsidies alone, I think you have a large enough contingent on the Republican side that don’t want them renewed at all — regardless of if you can somehow miraculously figure out the protections of Hyde.”

Since its inception more than a decade ago, the Affordable Care Act has barred federal subsidies from paying for abortions, but left it up to states whether health insurance plans in the individual market could cover abortion using other funding.

Half of states have opted to ban all coverage of abortion on their Obamacare markets, including some where abortion itself is legal, like Pennsylvania and Arizona. In the remaining 25 states, abortion coverage through Obamacare is either allowed or required, though any claims paid out involving the termination of a pregnancy come from a separate account that doesn’t use any federal subsidies.

If Congress passes an Obamacare subsidy extension that includes the abortion restrictions conservatives are demanding, it would force roughly a dozen states where abortion coverage is mandatory to make a tough decision: change their laws or risk losing billions of dollars. In the states where abortion coverage is allowed but not required, it would be up to individual insurance plans whether to lose federal funding or drop abortion coverage.

After nearly a year of the Trump administration clawing power away from Capitol Hill and dictating everything from spending to military action, some anti-abortion advocates are baffled by the lack of a firm message on how the Hyde amendment’s ban on abortion funding applies to Obamacare.

“It’s in tension with this administration’s broader approach to dealing with Congress, which has been very heavy handed — sort of, ‘We are calling the shots. Sit back and let us drive,’” said Brown. “But it would be their preference to sit in the back seat on that issue specifically.”

Benjamin Guggenheim contributed to this report.

Congress

House rejects Nancy Mace’s push for sexual harassment disclosure

Published

24 minutes ago

March 4, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The House effectively bottled up an attempt to force the release of sexual harassment claims against lawmakers after bipartisan leaders of the House Ethics Committee publicly condemned the effort led by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.).

Ethics Committee Chair Michael Guest (R-Miss.) and ranking member Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.) said in a joint statement that the effort would “chill” victims’ and witnesses’ cooperation.

Her resolution would also have forced the Ethics panel to share its records on cases where a lawmaker had a relationship with a subordinate — as Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) faces a probe over allegations that he had a romantic relationship with one of his staffers.

“Victims may be retraumatized by public disclosures of interim work product, excerpts of interview transcripts, and certain exhibits,” the two Ethics leaders said. “And witnesses, who often only speak to the Committee confidentially or on condition of future anonymity, could fear retaliation if their cooperation is made public.”

The House voted 357-65 to refer the resolution to the Ethics Committee, where it is almost certain to die given the top leaders’ opposition. House GOP leaders had also privately urged members to oppose Mace’s campaign.

“It’s shameful,” Mace said in an interview after the vote. She separately posted to X, “Both parties colluded today to protect predators. … The establishment always protects itself, never the victims.”

Separately, Mace is forcing a vote in a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing Wednesday to subpoena settlements between lawmakers and those who accused them of sexual misconduct.

Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.

Congress

‘Substantial reason to believe’ Tony Gonzales had sex with his staffer, House probe finds

Published

55 minutes ago

March 4, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Congressional investigators have found “a substantial reason to believe” that Rep. Tony Gonzales had a sexual relationship with a subordinate — an apparent violation of House rules.

Blue Light News exclusively reviewed the report made by the nonpartisan Office of Congressional Conduct and delivered Wednesday to the House Ethics Committee, which has separately announced it is investigating the matter. The board of the OCC— an independent investigative body of the House — recommended in a 6-0 decision that the Ethics panel, which handles member disciplinary matters, further examine the allegations against Gonzales, a Texas Republican.

The OCC report and announcement from the Ethics Committee comes as Gonzales faces a 12-week runoff campaign to keep the Republican nomination for the south Texas seat he has held for three terms. He narrowly trails challenger Brandon Herrera in the latest returns from Tuesday’s election but neither candidate is on track to win an outright majority, setting up a May 23 runoff.

Gonzales has denied wrongdoing and resisted calls from within his own party to resign as details of his relationship with the former staffer, Regina Santos-Aviles, continue to emerge. She died by suicide after setting herself on fire in 2025.

Responding to the Ethics Committee announcement Wednesday, Gonzales said, “I welcome the opportunity to present all the facts to the committee. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the OCC finding.

Tom Rust, staff director for the House Ethics Committee, declined comment, as did William Beaman, a spokesperson for OCC.

The OCC investigation found “a substantial reason to believe that Rep. Gonzales engaged in a sexual relationship with an employee of the House of Representatives who was working under his supervision,” according to the report viewed by Blue Light News.

In one exchange with a fellow staffer, known as Witness 1, Santos-Aviles texted: “I had an affair with our boss and I’m fine. You will be fine.” The staffer, in an interview with the OCC, described personal conversations with Santos-Aviles wherein she described text messages with Gonzales that “were sexual in nature, that were romantic in nature.”

In another part of the report, a screenshot of a message that was originally sent by Santos-Aviles’ husband to another Gonzales staffer said, “Just a heads up this is [Santos-Aviles’] soon to be ex husband I just wanted to inform all of you that we will be getting divorced after my discovery of text messages and pictures, that she’s been having an affair with your boss Tony Gonzales for some time now. Feel free to reach out if you want more of an explanation.”

While the OCC can’t issue disciplinary actions, its investigative reports have served as roadmaps for the Ethics Committee, which conducts its own probes. In opening its own inquiry Wednesday, the panel said it would examine allegations that Gonzales “engaged in sexual misconduct towards an individual employed in his congressional office” and “discriminated unfairly by dispensing special favors or privileges.”

Speaker Mike Johnson, navigating a tight GOP majority, said last week that he wanted to see how the election played out and that Gonzales was entitled to due process. While the findings from the OCC are significant, it could take months or years for the Ethics Committee to finish its own report and recommend any discipline.

Johnson told reporters after the Ethics Committee announcement that he would let the process “play out.” A spokesperson, Taylor Haulsee, did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the OCC finding.

Gonzales, who is married with children, is alleged to have pursued a sexual relationship with Santos-Aviles and tried to coerce her into sending explicit photos, according to text messages published by the San Antonio Express-News and other publications, some of which are referenced in the OCC report. Blue Light News has not independently reviewed the messages.

House rules prohibit members, such as Gonzales, from having “a sexual relationship” or engaging in “unwelcome sexual advances” with their staffers.

The Ethics Committee’s deliberations are usually shrouded in secrecy, and it sometimes takes years to deliver any sort of conclusion. Allegations that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) accepted improper gifts relating to the 2021 Met Gala, for instance, were not ruled upon until 2025, when she was instructed to repay the fair market value of the ticket of her guest, her designer gown and other gifts associated with the event.

Similarly, the Ethics panel took several years to issue a report on a 2020 stock trade made by the wife of Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) that was alleged to have been done using nonpublic information. Kelly was scolded in 2025 by the committee for not fully cooperating with the investigation with a strongly worded letter of disapproval and Kelly and his wife were advised by the committee to divest of any stock holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs, the company at issue.

In the Gonzales investigation, three witnesses, identified only as Witness 1, 2, and 3, were interviewed by OCC for the inquiry. Blue Light News was unable to identify and independently interview the witnesses.

Gonzales, his Chief of Staff Cesar Prieto, and two other staffers, Brittney Smith and Alfredo Arellano III, all refused to cooperate with OCC, according to the report. The office recommended that the House Ethics Committee subpoena them.

Prieto and Smith did not immediately respond to a request for comment. An attempt to reach Arellano on LinkedIn was unsucessful.

Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.

Congress

Al Green, Menefee head to runoff in member-on-member Democratic primary

Published

4 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Texas Democratic Reps. Al Green and Christian Menefee are headed to a runoff, extending a member-on-member matchup defined by the latest fight over generational change.

Neither Green, 78, or Menefee, 37, earned a majority of votes in the newly drawn Houston 18th District resulting from Texas Republicans’ recent gerrymander of the state’s congressional map.

Green, a civil rights icon, jumped into the race after his former district was scrambled by the GOP’s redistricting. The matchup comes as the Democratic Party is engaged in an intense debate about whether the old guard should step aside and make room for a younger generation of leaders.

Green, who was first elected to Congress in 2004, has long represented the Houston area. He was the first Democrat to introduce articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump — long before most other House Democrats were on board — and famously protested his addresses to Congress.

Just weeks ago, Menefee had won a special election in an overlapping district to serve out the remainder of the late, former Rep. Sylvester Turner’s term.