News: The 3 GOP senators Trump squeezed on abortion

Tuesday, April 9, 2024

The 3 GOP senators Trump squeezed on abortion

Apr 09, 2024

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With assists from POLITICO’s Congress team

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) departs a vote at the U.S. Capitol March 22, 2024. (Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images)

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is one of the Senate GOP lawmakers who could feel pinched by former President Donald Trump's abortion stance. (Francis Chung/POLITICO) | AP

AWKWARD ABORTION DYNAMICS TO WATCH

President Donald Trump’s announced stance that abortion should be left to the states sent many in the GOP scrambling. But three senators in particular could feel the squeeze in the coming months.

Some lawmakers are trying a new strategy. Take Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), whose wife just argued an abortion case before the Supreme Court. He aligned with Trump and said Republicans should “make the case anew” to voters to ban abortion at the state level — though that argument hasn’t seemed to work much so far.

“It’s not going to pass,” Hawley said about a push from Republicans in Congress to codify a nationwide ban. “It’s not going to get 60 [votes]. So let's be realistic. I mean, that's not going to happen.”

But many Republicans aren’t willing to cede ground on a federal abortion ban, insisting that the party can’t just allow blue states to continue the practice. Count Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) in that bucket, who previously introduced a bill to ban abortion after 15 weeks and became a target of Trump’s wrath on Monday.

He’s the most obvious, given that social media blowup, but he’s not alone. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) has also critiqued Trump’s abortion position, supported a 15-week federal ban and he’s on the list to potentially join Trump’s ticket as vice president.

And then there’s Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), also a contender for VP but seen as a less likely pick. He signed on as a cosponsor of Graham’s 15-week-ban bill last term, and now he’s running for reelection in a state where abortion is also on the ballot.

Let’s dive into those three to watch.

Graham: He “respectfully disagreed” with Trump on Monday, saying he still felt a nationwide 15-week abortion ban was appropriate. Trump quickly panned that take as a stance that could lose Republicans elections in the fall.

The split is particularly notable given the two’s former status as close allies. Now, Trump is directly contradicting Graham on both abortion and strengthening U.S. national security, two of the South Carolina senator’s biggest priorities. Trump and Graham have been at odds over how to handle an emboldened and aggressive Russia on the world stage.

Graham wouldn’t say Monday whether he’ll re-introduce legislation to ban abortions federally. That could set up an ugly, intra-party clash if Trump wins in November. And Graham, for his part, doesn’t feel Hawley’s optimism about taking the fight to limit abortion to the states.

“For the pro-life movement it's about the child, not geography,” Graham said. “So if you’re turning the pro-life movement into a geographical movement, I think you're stuck.”

Scott: Trump’s abortion stance could complicate his veepstakes. Scott also backed a 15-week national ban and used that as a major differentiator in his campaign against Trump for the GOP nomination. And he lobbed strong criticism at Trump for his disinterest in a federal abortion ban.

Scott’s office didn’t respond to our request for comment Tuesday, and he doesn’t usually respond in hallway interviews.

His position could make Scott’s potential selection as VP a bit awkward, given the daylight between their positions. But alternatively, maybe it helps Scott if Trump’s campaign thinks he would help them with anti-abortion groups.

Rubio: The Florida Republican is already taking political hits for cosponsoring Graham’s bill to ban abortions nationwide after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

Democrats clearly want to tie him to anti-abortion rhetoric, especially with the right to the procedure on his state’s ballot in November. Floridians will get to vote on a state constitutional amendment that could enshrine abortion protections in the state constitution, and an abortion ban after six weeks of pregnancy is currently slated to take effect in the state.

Given those dynamics, Trump’s position might be helpful to give Rubio some distance. He praised the former president’s announcement to us on Tuesday: “What he said yesterday was the truth: that our most realistic chance of limiting the damage that abortion does is at the state level. That's just a fact.”

— Katherine Tully-McManus with help from Burgess Everett and Ursula Perano

A message from The Alzheimer’s Association:

The dawning of a new era for Alzheimer’s treatment, care and support. Significant progress in Alzheimer’s and dementia research and the recent Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of Alzheimer’s treatments to slow progression at an early stage has given patients and caregivers hope. But as we enter this new era, we must remove barriers standing between those with dementia and the care they need.

GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Inside Congress, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Tuesday, April 9, where we missed that mid-afternoon eclipse break we enjoyed yesterday.

HAWLEY’S RUMBLING ON TIKTOK BILL

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said Tuesday he’s considering forcing a vote on the House-passed TikTok bill, as Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has declined to commit to bringing it to the Senate floor.

“I'm not willing to sort of accept that as a final answer. So we'll see,” Hawley said. “If the Commerce Committee is gonna try to bottle it up, then I may move to see if we can bring it to the floor. What I might do is ask for unanimous consent to set a vote and to have a debate and see where that goes.”

Senate leaders pumped the brakes on the legislation that would force a TikTok sale — or potential ban — after the House passed the bill with overwhelming bipartisan support. Hawley supports banning the Beijing-based company; he introduced a bill last term that banned TikTok on government devices, which was signed into law in 2022.

— Daniella Diaz

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EXCLUSIVE: HERITAGE GETS INVOLVED IN SPY POWERS FIGHT

The conservative Heritage Action For America is wading into the House GOP’s messy fight over reauthorizing a controversial spy power.

The group told POLITICO exclusively the organization is urging lawmakers to back a bipartisan amendment, favored by privacy hawks, that would require the intelligence community to get a warrant before it searches the foreign data collected under Section 702 for information related to Americans.

“We strongly encourage members to support the amendment on the floor as a step toward curbing the FBI's abuses of Americans' civil liberties,” Heritage wrote in a letter to Hill staff.

As we scooped already: A Johnson employee told a group of Republican staffers on Monday that the speaker would oppose the amendment, two people told us.

The amendment is backed by a bipartisan coalition in the House, including Reps. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Judiciary Committee leadership.

But part of the concern about adding a warrant requirement into the bill — a longtime demand for privacy hawks — is the Biden administration’s fierce opposition to it. That could kill the legislation in the Senate, after the House has worked for months to steer it through the chamber.

— Daniella Diaz and Jordain Carney

HUDDLE HOTDISH

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) struggled a bit with her planetary physics.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer gave his whip team Stanley tumblers (beware of leaks, literal and metaphorical!)

Lots of members are going to be partying tonight with Benito.

It’s tulip season at the Capitol

How was the Longworth boba?

A dead car battery almost got between Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and the total eclipse.

A message from The Alzheimer’s Association:

QUICK LINKS

GOP delays Mayorkas impeachment trial until Monday, from Burgess Everett and Ursula Perano

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass pitches Rep. Barbara Lee to be the next U.S. Housing secretary from NBC’s Scott Wong and Monica Alba

'Uncomfortable' AI-generated voicemails from gun violence victims swarm Congress, from Jackie Padilla

TRANSITIONS

Zoe Sheppard is now director at Bully Pulpit International. She was formerly the communications director and senior adviser for Rep. Susie Lee (D-Nev.).

TOMORROW IN CONGRESS

The House and Senate are in session.

WEDNESDAY AROUND THE HILL

10 a.m. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on “Oversight of the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Grant Program.” (G50 Dirksen)

10 a.m. Reps. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), Susan Wild (D-Pa.), Kim Schrier (D-Wash.), Andrea Salinas (D-Ore.) and Nikki Budzinski (D-Ill.) hold a press conference on the high cost of inhalers.(House Triangle)

2 p.m. House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing on the fiscal 2025 budget request for the U.S. Army. (H-140 Capitol)

3 p.m. The House Armed Services Committee’s Quality of Life Panel holds a press conference to unveil their final report (House Triangle)

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TRIVIA

MONDAY’S ANSWER: Threats of German U-boats is what prompted moving the presidential retreat to its current location in the Catoctin Mountains.

TODAY’S QUESTION: What is the largest statue in the National Statuary Hall Collection?

The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Inside Congress. Send your answers to insidecongress@politico.com.

GET INSIDE CONGRESS emailed to your phone each evening.

A message from The Alzheimer’s Association:

How can we relieve the burden of Alzheimer's and dementia on individuals, caregivers, and the nation's health care system?

As progress continues in Alzheimer’s and dementia care and treatment, we must increase our focus on detection and diagnosis, expanding and improving access for people in rural and medically underserved areas, increasing research funding, and investing in our dementia infrastructure. This will accelerate innovation, leading to new, more accessible treatments and means of prevention for the nearly 7 million Americans living with the disease. It’s time to renew our nation’s commitment to fighting Alzheimer’s and all other dementia. Learn more.