Abortion opponents threaten to withhold midterm support amid rift with Trump [View all]
Source: Politico
01/15/2026 05:00 AM EST
The anti-abortion movement’s embrace of President Donald Trump paid them major dividends in his first term: The Supreme Court justices he appointed overturned Roe v. Wade, and state abortion bans swept the country.
But a year into his second term, with little movement on their top policy priorities and mounting frustration with Trump’s rhetoric on government funding of abortion, IVF, and other hot-button issues, some activists are questioning the alliance — and their own place within the GOP.
Trump’s recent revelation that he fears being impeached if Republicans lose the fall midterms has only strengthened abortion opponents’ belief that 2026 races can provide them powerful leverage to push the president to take their demands more seriously.
To reassert their influence, leading abortion opponents are threatening to redirect or withhold some of their pledged tens of millions in midterms spending and the labor of their volunteer armies. Others are exploring backing primary campaigns against any Republicans they view as too soft on the issue. And in both public statements and private talks with the administration, conservative activists are speaking directly to Trump’s fears of a blue wave.
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/15/abortion-opponents-revamp-their-midterms-plans-as-rift-with-trump-widens-00729224
= new reply since forum marked as read