As President Joe Biden is pummeled with criticism over his handling of classified information, the White House is trying to amplify Republican Party disagreement over its anti-abortion policies now that they control the House after last year’s midterm elections.
The renewed focus on abortion comes after the White House underscored division between House and Senate Republicans amid the House speakership impasse and fracas over the chamber’s rules for this Congress, one of which could slash defense spending.
Voters did not want Republicans determining their healthcare before the 2022 midterm elections, according to Democratic strategist Tracy Sefl.
“And after seeing their messy start this month, I’m comfortable asserting Americans still don’t want these people making their health decisions,” she told the Washington Examiner. “Republicans who don’t see this, or who refuse to see this, risk further alienating voters already disconcerted by this month’s C-SPAN show and news of concessions being given to hard-line extremists.”
Another Democratic strategist, Karen Finney, is mindful that Democrats remain in control of the Senate but cites NARAL-Impact Research that found 52% of voters who responded to the post-midterm elections poll are concerned Republicans will attempt to ban abortions, including 53% of “non-Democrats” who cast ballots for the party last cycle.
“While it’s clearly a political messaging exercise, by introducing this legislation, House Republicans have proven to a majority of Americans that they are right not to trust Republicans and that reproductive freedom is only safe under Democratic leadership in Congress,” she said.
But Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, disagreed. She noted that three Democrats opposed their party to support Rep. Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) concurrent resolution that would condemn attacks on anti-abortion organizations or Rep. Ann Wagner’s (R-MO) Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.
“House Republicans stood united this week against infanticide and pro-abortion violence toward life-saving nonprofits,” Dannenfelser said. “What is extreme and out of touch is the Democratic Party position of abortion on demand until birth and even infanticide, paid for by taxpayers, which Americans overwhelmingly reject.”
“We expect GOP leaders to advocate minimum federal protections, such as when unborn babies have a heartbeat or feel pain,” she added. “The pro-life movement will not stop fighting to achieve the most ambitious protections and save as many lives as possible.”
To that end, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has pledged that his conference will “prioritize the defense of life and all individuals from violence and intimidation.”
Imbued with confidence after Democrats’ performance in the midterm elections and this week’s Virginia state Senate race, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre elevated Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) by naming her from the briefing podium.
“In their first slate of bills, House Republicans are prioritizing legislation that would amount to a national ban on abortion,” she said Wednesday. “It’s not just tone deaf. As Republican congresswoman Nancy Mace said herself, it’s extreme, out of touch with the beliefs of the majority of Americans around the country.”
Mace, whose district in South Carolina was redrawn last cycle to exclude parts of liberal Charleston, has repeated in multiple interviews that House Republicans passing a “born alive” measure as one of their first actions in the majority was “not the way to start off the week.”
“We’re only paying lip service to the pro-life movement,” she said during a separate appearance. “If you want to make a difference and reduce the number of abortions with a Democrat-controlled Senate, the No. 1 issue we should be working on is access to birth control.”
The White House has also seized on birth control access after Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas encouraged the reconsideration of precedents related to Roe-esque substantive due process findings. The House passed a bill last summer that Democrats contended would protect the right to use contraceptives, but the measure was blocked by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) in the other chamber.
Although having a divided Congress is problematic for Biden’s agenda, having a Republican House has provided the White House with more political fodder than when the GOP was simply the party of “no.”
Last week, the White House spotlighted Rep. Tony Gonzales’s (R-TX) dissent over potential defense cuts and Biden’s infrastructure event with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) in Kentucky amid the speakership stalemate before the classified documents story broke.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“This push to defund our military in the name of politics is senseless and out of line with our national security needs,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates said of the defense budget. “There is bipartisan opposition to defense cuts because making us less capable of keeping the American people safe and advancing our national security interests would be a profound mistake that our nation cannot afford.”
