Dozens of House Republicans Cast Votes That Help Fund 'Gender-Affirming Care' for Kids, Late-Term Abortions
Several House Republicans are openly criticizing GOP House leadership after dozens of Republicans voted for a budget amendment Thursday that gave millions to “gender-affirming care” and pro-abortion groups.
The so-called “minibus” appropriations deal — the “final slate of 2026 funding bills,” according to The Hill — was supposed to fund numerous departments.
One of the packages, which funded (among others) the departments of Defense, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Labor, and Education, passed by a vote of 341-88.
A Department of Homeland Security funding bill passed separately by a slimmer margin, 220-207, as House Democrats used the opportunity to express dissent against the deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to Minneapolis and the death of anti-ICE activist Renee Good in a confrontation with ICE agents earlier in the month.
House Speaker Mike Johnson expressed relief over the votes, saying he wanted to get Congress back to “muscle memory” when it came to funding the government without frequent showdowns.
However, his most lasting opposition might be from the right, where several Republicans noted that provisions inserted in the Senate into a bill funding the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education not only added more Democrat-centric spending priorities but flew in the face of conservative moral and ethical positions.
South Carolina Republican Rep. Ralph Norman had offered an amendment that would have stripped the Senate earmarks from the bill.
The amendment was defeated by a vote of 291-136.
“76 House Republicans joined every single House Democrat in support of earmarks for abortions, gender procedures on children, DEI activism, and partisan pet projects,” Rep. Keith Self of Texas wrote on the social media platform X.
“With Republicans like these, who needs Democrats?”
76 House Republicans joined every single House Democrat in support of earmarks for abortions, gender procedures on children, DEI activism, and partisan pet projects.
With Republicans like these, who needs Democrats? pic.twitter.com/Cbtl2bunQ2
— Rep. Keith Self (@RepKeithSelf) January 22, 2026
Republican Rep. Mark Harris of North Carolina posted a long X thread detailing some of the earmarked appropriations, including millions to hospitals where child “gender transitioning” occurs. Other facilities perform abortions, including late-term abortions, both chemical and surgical.
🚨 Taxpayers are funding radical procedures through earmarks!
The swamp secured millions for hospitals performing gender surgeries on kids, late-term abortions, & more in the spending minibus.
🧵Here’s the list—outrageous waste of YOUR money!
$3 MILLION to Denver Health &…
— Rep. Mark Harris (@RepMarkHarrisNC) January 22, 2026
“Tax dollars should NOT go to mutilating kids, late-term abortions, or destroying embryos,” Harris wrote.
In addition, some “community funding project” earmarks were a bone of contention with Republicans, according to The Hill.
Mike Benz, founder of the conservative Foundation for Freedom Online, noted that while the GOP had dozens of defectors on the bill, the Democrats were able to keep their own people in check.
Once again, Democrats vote 100% as a block, while a third of Republicans defect to the Democrats, giving Democrats an effective majority in the House. https://t.co/wpXuJ63YZj
— Mike Benz (@MikeBenzCyber) January 22, 2026
“Once again, Democrats vote 100% as a block, while a third of Republicans defect to the Democrats, giving Democrats an effective majority in the House,” he wrote.
Still, despite the discontent, House Speaker Johnson called the vote to approve the funding “the most significant sign of progress in these halls in years.”
“We’re returning the appropriations process to a committee-led, member-driven approach, as it should be,” the Louisiana Republican said.
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