Birth control, IVF and SCOTUS: Democrats target GOP vulnerabilities
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Gabriella Turrisi/Axios
Democratic leaders are deploying a series of "show votes" to put Republicans in the hot seat and draw attention to their divisions on hot-button issues, including the blocked vote on IVF last week.
The big picture: Democrats are focusing their attention on birth control, IVF and Supreme Court ethics — all of which are vulnerabilities for the GOP ahead of the November elections.
Zoom in: Senate Democrats have their razor-thin majority on the line in November, so Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is running an offensive by putting Republicans through a series of uncomfortable votes.
- Birth control: Republicans blocked a bill on June 5 that would have protected access to contraception at the federal level.
- The vote was a part of a reproductive rights blitz planned by Senate Democrats around the second anniversary of the end of Roe v. Wade.
- Abortion and reproductive rights have proved to be a winning issue for Democrats at the polls since Roe was overturned.
- IVF: Senate Republicans on June 13 blocked a bill aimed at ensuring federal protections for IVF.
- Republicans had insisted they'd protect the treatment since the Alabama Supreme Court issued a ruling in February that resulted in clinics pausing IVF in the state. But they've struggled on their messaging around it.
- Supreme Court ethics: Republicans also blocked a bill on June 12 that would have established a code of conduct for justices on the nation's highest court.
- The measure was a part of Democrats' response to controversial flags affiliated with Jan. 6 rioters flying outside Justice Samuel Alito's homes and to justices accepting lavish gifts, most notably Clarence Thomas.
Zoom out: For every Democrat-backed "show vote" in the Senate, there's a discharge petition from House Democrats.
- They're preparing a discharge petition that would force a floor vote on protecting IVF.
- Earlier this month, House Democrats launched a discharge petition aimed at forcing a vote on legislation to protect access to contraception. Republican leadership pushed hard against their members signing on.
Between the lines: The discharge petition is an effort to put endangered Republicans on the spot and pressure them to help provide the signatures to bypass GOP leadership and force a floor vote, Axios' Andrew Solender reports.
