Vance pledges anti-abortion policies after White House deemed soft

Sandhya Raman, CQ-Roll Call on Jan 23, 2026

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WASHINGTON — Thousands of marchers descended on the National Mall on Friday as some of the nation’s most powerful politicians pledged to take the next steps to ending abortion.

The annual March for Life rally serves as a key jumping point for abortion-related policy announcements from conservatives. But anti-abortion advocates had warned that the Trump administration has not done enough to advance their cause and that could have political ramifications.

On Friday, the White House doubled down on its support for anti-abortion priorities, with Vice President JD Vance acknowledging the “elephant in the room” that “our politics have failed to answer the clarion call to life that this March represents.”

“So let me tell you something very simple, under this administration ... you have an ally in the White House,” he told the crowd, his presence a nod to this year’s theme, “Life is a Gift.” Earlier this week he and his wife, second lady Usha Vance, announced they are expecting their fourth child in July.

Vance and others highlighted a number of changes implemented in year since the last march, where Vance made his first public speech as vice president.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., for example, pointed to House passage of two pregnancy-related bills this week that seek to uplift pregnancy information resources as an alternative to abortion. Johnson also noted last year’s defunding of Planned Parenthood through the GOP reconciliation law.

Republican Reps. Andy Harris of Maryland, Michael Cloud of Texas, John McGuire of Virginia, Michelle Fischbach of Minnesota, William R. Timmons IV of South Carolina, Robert B. Aderholt of Alabama, Andrew Clyde of Georgia, Bob Onder of Missouri, Tim Walberg of Michigan, Kat Cammack of Florida, Daniel Crenshaw of Texas, Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania, Bill Huizenga of Michigan, Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin, French Hill of Arkansas, and Mike Kennedy of Utah also appeared and were recognized on stage.

President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., both addressed the crowd through prerecorded videos.

Wider policy

The White House announced Friday it would expand the so-called Mexico City Policy — which restricts aid to foreign nongovernmental organizations that provide abortions, abortion counseling or referrals. It will widen its scope and place restrictions on organizations that promote gender or diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

“With these additions, the rule will now cover every nonmilitary foreign assistance that America sends. Since all in all, we’ve expanded the Mexico City policy about three times as big as it was before,” Vance said.

Rep. Christopher H. Smith, R-N.J., the longtime co-chair of the House Pro-Life Caucus, told the crowd that the move would effectively “defund” groups like the International Planned Parenthood Foundation and MSI Reproductive Choices of about $30 billion.

The administration on Friday also rolled back multiple Biden administration guidelines related to abortion. These include 2021 guidance that would prohibit recipients of grants or government contracts from penalizing health care personnel if they perform or assist in abortions and 2023 guidance instructing pharmacists of their obligations to dispense certain drugs that could end a pregnancy.

The Mexico City Policy change follows similar domestic efforts by the administration to tamp down on government programs and grant funding that prioritizes diversity and equity efforts.

Implementation of the policy, which its opponents refer to as the “Global Gag Rule,” has been standard practice during every Republican presidency since Ronald Reagan.

During Trump’s first term he expanded the scope of its restrictions beyond family planning funding to all global health aid and, subsequently, to subcontractors to any organizations that provide abortions.

Trump issued an executive order in January 2025 reimplementing his policy following the 2025 rally.

The State Department also revealed its America First Global Health Strategy in September, which outlines the administration’s new vision for decreased foreign assistance coupled with increased buy-ins from recipient countries.

The administration made other abortion-related announcements this week.

On Thursday the National Institutes of Health said it would end support for medical research using fetal tissue derived from abortions and the Small Business Administration opened a review of 38 affiliates of Planned Parenthood Federation of America related to $88 million in Paycheck Protection Program COVID-19 relief.

The Health and Human Services Department also took action on Wednesday against Illinois, announcing that the state had violated two federal appropriations riders related to conscience by requiring health providers to provide abortion referrals or risk losing state liability protections.