Feb 20, 2025 - Politics & Policy

Scoop: Senate Dems squeeze GOP on Trump's IVF promise

Stephen Neukam

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) speaks alongside Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) during a news conference on access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments outside of the U.S. Capitol Building on June 12, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Senate Democrats want to force Republicans to vote on mandating insurance coverage of IVF as part of a debate over the GOP's budget resolution, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: President Trump signed an executive order meant to expand access to IVF this week, but Democrats say the directive is toothless.

Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) plan to offer their Right to IVF Act as an amendment to the Republican budget resolution on Thursday evening.
Trump's executive order earlier this week doesn't change U.S. law or policy, but instead directs his team to make recommendations to reduce the cost of IVF.
Duckworth is lobbying Senate leadership to put the amendment on the floor for a vote, sources told Axios.

The big picture: Trump promised in his presidential campaign to mandate that the government of insurance companies cover the cost of IVF.

"If Republicans really support IVF, then Senator Booker and I are giving them yet another chance to prove it tonight," Duckworth said in a statement to Axios.
Senate Republicans blocked IVF legislation in 2024.

Zoom out: Democrats will use the budget debate, which is expected to stretch past midnight, to force Republicans into tough amendment votes.

Go deeper: What to know about Trump's executive order on IVF

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Scoop: Senate Dems squeeze GOP on Trump's IVF promise

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