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Manchin Says He Will Support Hyde ‘In Every Way Possible’

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Mary Margaret Olohan
June 10, 2021 6:09 PM ET

Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin reportedly said Thursday that he would back the Hyde Amendment, which bans the use of federal funds for abortions.

“I’m going to support Hyde in every way possible,” the senator reportedly told Bloomberg reporter Alex Ruoff.

Manchin announced in March that he would vote to confirm pro-abortion Xavier Becerra as Health and Human Services secretary, noting that Becerra had promised to “uphold the law” on the Hyde Amendment.

“He committed to me that he will uphold the law in regards to the Hyde Amendment,” Manchin said in a March statement. “I believe Attorney General Becerra will be a leader for every American and West Virginian, and I will vote to confirm him as Secretary of Health and Human Services.”

President Joe Biden has repeatedly promised to repeal the Hyde Amendment, and his assurances are backed by Democratic leadership and pro-abortion advocates pushing to axe the amendment from acts of Congress.

Biden, who formerly said he was opposed to abortion as a Catholic, supported the Hyde Amendment up until June 2019. At the time, presidential candidates Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, along with former Mayor Pete Buttigieg and then-Sen. Kamala Harris, had pledged to repeal the Hyde Amendment should they become president in 2020.

Biden’s campaign confirmed to NBC on June 5, 2019, that though he supported Roe v. Wade, he still supported Hyde. The statement was greeted with strong backlash from pro-abortion groups, left-wing activists, and fellow candidates.

The National Abortion Rights Action League spoke out against Biden’s stance, saying it “further endangers” those “facing enormous hurdles” in obtaining abortion.

Within 24 hours of reaffirming his support for Hyde, Biden announced on June 6, 2019, that he could “no longer support an amendment” that cuts off abortion funding. The former vice president cited attacks on abortion legislation from GOP lawmakers as a reason for his switch.

Vice President Kamala Harris formerly attacked Biden for his flip during the July Democratic presidential primary debate, pointing out that Biden only changed his stance on Hyde after he began running for president.

“Why did it take you so long to change your position on the Hyde Amendment?” Harris asked Biden. “Why did it take so long until you were running for president to change your position on the Hyde Amendment?”

“Because there was not full, federal funding for all reproductive services prior to this point,” Biden responded.

Manchin did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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