While the GOP is still reeling after its American Health Care Act failure, there’s another fight looming on the horizon that could bring about a government shutdown: defunding Planned Parenthood.
With the current continuing resolution that funds the government set to expire on April 28, Axios is reporting that the House Freedom Caucus will likely make defunding the abortion giant a requirement for their support of the government funding bill. Seeing that there’s pretty much zero chance of that getting 60 votes in the Senate, Republican leadership will be forced between a rock and a hard place on this one.
Axios points out the two bad options before House Speaker Paul Ryan, who’s been a vocal advocate of stripping Planned Parenthood of federal funding:
1. Defund Planned Parenthood but do so knowing the bill won't make it through the Senate. Where that game ends: a government shutdown.
2. Leave out the provision to defund Planned Parenthood. That's also politically dangerous. He'd lose lots of Republican votes and would need to pass the funding bill with Democrats' support. That's the kind of thing John Boehner was forced to do during the dying days of his speakership.
This will certainly be an interesting fight to watch, as President Trump has blamed the Freedom Caucus on Twitter for helping save Planned Parenthood by opposing the House’s Obamacare replacement plan.
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