Shalanda Young, who is President Joe Biden’s White House Deputy Budget Director nominee, recently stated that the elimination of the Hyde Amendment, which would allow for taxpayer funded abortions, is essential for “economic and racial justice”.
According to the New York Post, Young – who prior to her statement against the Hyde Amendment had broad support on Capitol Hill, including from Republicans – made her position on abortion known in a statement last week.
Young’s words came in response to a question concerning the Hyde Amendment after her nomination was approved by The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and Senate Budget Committee last Wednesday.
“The President has spoken in favor of Congress ending the Hyde Amendment as part of his commitment to providing comprehensive health care for all women,” Young said.
“Further, eliminating the Hyde Amendment is a matter of economic and racial justice because it most significantly impacts Medicaid recipients, who are low-income and more likely to be women of color,” she contended.
Young was approved by the Homeland Security panel in a 7-6 vote without Republican support, while the Senate Budget Committee approved her in a 14-8 vote with Republican support.
Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), were among the Republicans in the Senate Budget Committee who voted for Young.
Now, Graham is asserting that Young “must answer an additional question about her position” regarding the Hyde Amendment before casting his vote on the Senate floor.
Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), who initially was going to approve Young’s nomination, backed out in light of her support for the removal of the Hyde Amendment.
“This is one where our country is so deeply divided on abortion, where we’ve been able to come together and decide, at a minimum, let’s not tell people with a deep view based on their conscience on this, that they have to pay taxpayer funds for abortion,” he said.
Meanwhile, a Republican Senate source said Young’s linking of the Hyde Amendment to racial justice “shows a pretty radical ideological agenda that wasn’t apparent before and gave most Republican senators pause at the 11th hour.”
Young’s nomination came after the withdrawal of Biden’s previous OMB nominee, Neera Tanden, who went after Senators in past tweets.
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Joe Raedle/Staff
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
