During his speech at the House GOP retreat on January 6, President Trump suggested that Republicans need to be “a little flexible” on the Hyde Amendment — which prevents taxpayer dollars from funding the majority of abortions — to get a health care compromise passed where Republicans could win politically on lowering premiums.
The mere suggestion enraged pro-life America, which sees the Hyde Amendment as the only firewall preventing taxpayer dollars from directly funding the slaughter of the unborn.
On this episode of the “Steve Deace Show,” Deace speaks with one of Iowa’s top evangelical and political voices, Bob Vander Plaats, on why bending on Hyde could collapse the GOP coalition heading into 2026 midterms.
“There are two lasting victories of the pro-life movement,” says Deace.
One of them is the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and the other is the Hyde Amendment.
While Deace and Vander Plaats give President Trump the win for the overturning of Roe v. Wade, as he appointed the Supreme Court justices who took up the case, they condemn his suggestion to soften on Hyde as a catastrophic loss in the fight for life.
But on top of ethics, it doesn’t make sense politically.
“President Trump understands better than anything [that] the taxpayer funding of abortion is not a winning issue for Democrats. This is one of those 70% issues where people don’t want your tax dollars going to fund abortions. So why not land on your convictions when it’s politically correct as well? Don’t negotiate on this thing,” says Vander Plaats.
Any Republican politician dreaming of running for president in 2028, he warns, would be wise to stay far away from the Hyde issue.
“This will just not only blunt your campaign, this will decimate your campaign,” he cautions.
To compromise on Hyde will only further demoralize the conservative base, which already struggles to turn out for special elections and off-year elections — even in red areas the GOP should win, adds Deace, as the right sadly lacks the kind of boots-on-the-ground apparatus that Democrats excel in mobilizing during any election.
“We don’t need to be giving our base less reason to vote right now,” he says.
If Republicans want to at least keep the House and prevent Democrats from embarking on an “impeaching palooza,” there are “three kinds of voters” they must inspire to show up for midterms: the MAHA voter, the “Theo Von/Joe Rogan voter who thinks the whole system is corrupt,” and the “traditional conservative,” pro-life voter.
Deace predicts that of the three groups, only MAHA is pleased right now. The Von/Rogan voters are entirely “off the reservation” because they no longer believe that Trump will actually drain the swamp. And the conservative pro-life voter base is teetering on the edge of giving up.
If compromises are made on the Hyde Amendment, this group will almost certainly not show out for midterms.
To hear more of Deace and Vander Plaat’s conversation, watch the video above.
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