Congress’ Anti-Abortion Republicans Want a National Ban. But They Want President Trump More.

Sen. J.D. Vance, who once backed a “minimum national standard on abortion,” said Trump was “making a pretty obvious observation to me, which is that, you know, Republicans keep on losing on abortion politics.”

Anti-abortion activists in March for Life 2020.
Republicans say they still believe Trump is anti-abortion but was stating the political reality. Evan Vucci/AP

Donald Trump’s grip on conservatives remains so strong that anti-abortion Republican lawmakers — even those who have pushed for a federal abortion ban for years — did not bat an eye when the former president said this week he would not sign a national ban into law.

Rep. Mike Kelly from Pennsylvania, a Trump ally, told NOTUS that he was “not disappointed” by Trump’s new stance and that abortion “went back to the states” with the Dobbs decision. Kelly has pushed for and reintroduced a six-week federal ban this session (the congressman said he was “a realist” about his bill likely not becoming law any time soon).

“[Trump’s] position is pro-life,” Kelly said. “He’s not going to jump over the states. A lot of this goes back to the 10th Amendment, doesn’t it? So, it’s not covered by the Constitution.”