House Republicans’ reconciliation bill gave the conservative movement a victory they have been fighting for for years: a nationwide ban on federal funds from being used to cover gender-affirming care for transgender people of any age.
“This has been our top priority from the beginning of this year, and we had been preparing for this ever since election night in 2024,” Terry Schilling, president of the conservative American Principles Project, told NOTUS.
While much of the fight over gender-affirming-care access has been happening at the state level — and focused almost entirely on minors — the provision in the reconciliation bill marks the first time a federal restriction on gender-affirming care for adults has passed a full chamber of Congress. But in the future, Republican lawmakers and their allies hope the ban will be a standard part of spending bills moving forward.