Senate GOP leader contenders waffle on Trump IVF plan
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Former President Trump. Photo: Cheney Orr/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Republicans vying for the top two positions in Senate leadership were noncommittal on Monday about former President Trump's newly-floated plan to require insurance companies to cover the cost of IVF treatments.
Why it matters: The details of Trump's proposal aren't clear, but it could require buy-in from Congress to make a reality. Republican senators are hesitant.
What they're saying: "I'm sure it comes from good intentions," Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), the current GOP Senate whip who is running to replace McConnell, told Axios.
- "But I don't know, I have to think about whether or not that's something that you would want to mandate on insurance companies," Thune added.
- "We ought to have that discussion," said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas.), who is also running for leader. When asked if he personally supported the idea, Cornyn only said that he supports an open debate and a vote.
- Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who also announced a leadership bid, told reporters he would take a look at the proposal, but then pointed to his separate IVF legislation to address high costs.
"We can talk about how funding works," Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), currently running unopposed for the No. 2 spot in the Senate GOP, told Axios.
- Barrasso emphasized that "every Republican I know supports in vitro fertilization."
Zoom out: Trump allies in the Senate also have been split over Trump's idea.
- Sen. Linsey Graham (R-S.C.) told ABC earlier this month that he would not support such an insurance mandate, saying "there's no end to that."
- Meanwhile, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a potential candidate for a future Trump administration position, told NBC that Republicans would be open to the idea.
Between the lines: The proposal is unusual for a Republican platform. But Trump has been trying to soften the blow from the abortion and reproductive rights issue, which has bolstered Democrats after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
- It's still unclear exactly how Trump's plan to mandate coverage would work.
- "We're doing this because we just think it's great and we need great children, beautiful children in our country," Trump told NBC News late last month.
- "American women are not stupid, and we know the only guaranteed protection for IVF is a new national law, which Kamala Harris supports and Donald Trump opposes," Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said after Trump unveiled his proposal.
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to note that Sen. John Barrasso said "fertilization," not "federalization".
