Pentagon Scraps Biden-Era Policy Subsidizing Travel Expenses For Employee Abortions

By Shawn Fleetwood  |  The Federalist

In a major win for America’s unborn, the Trump Defense Department officially revoked a Biden-era policy that authorized the use of taxpayer money to subsidize agency employees’ abortion-related travel expenses.

In a memo issued Wednesday, Defense Travel Management Office Deputy Director Sarah Moore notified the Pentagon’s Military Advisory Panel that the Biden administration’s policy of effectively using public funds to reimburse service members who traveled to states with pro-abortion laws to terminate their pregnancy is no longer in effect.

The directive — which took effect Tuesday — was issued in compliance with President Trump’s executive order reaffirming the Hyde Amendment and “similar laws that prevent Federal funding of elective abortion.”

The 2023 policy became a major flashpoint in Congress and the military bureaucracy. To protest the Biden administration’s directive, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., initiated a months-long hold on President Biden’s Pentagon promotions, using his position on the Senate Armed Services Committee to force the body to vote on each nomination one at a time rather than “en masse.”

Alabama’s senior senator endured dishonest attacks from Democrats and Biden military appointees, who baselessly claimed his holds jeopardized military readiness and national security.

Notably, many of these same actors were silent when it was revealed that then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin went MIA last year and declined to notify the American people and relevant authorities, including Biden, the White House, and Congress.

Tuberville was all but forced to end his protest in December 2023, when several of his GOP colleagues threatened to side with Senate Democrats in changing Senate rules to skirt the holds. Among the most notable Republican sellouts were Sens. Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Joni Ernst of Iowa, Todd Young of Indiana, and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.

In a Friday statement, Tuberville described the Biden-era policy as “illegal and immoral.” He noted that he “took a lot of heat when [he] stood alone for nearly a year in holding senior Pentagon promotions,” but added that, “as of today, it was all worth it.”

“The Biden administration treated taxpayers like their own personal Piggy bank that they could use to bankroll their woke agenda. President Trump and Secretary Hegseth affirmed today what I’ve been fighting for since I got to Washington: zero taxpayer dollars should go towards abortions,” Tuberville said.

“Under President Trump and Secretary Hegseth’s leadership, the Pentagon will once again be focused on lethality, not pushing a political agenda.”

Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood

First published on The Federalist

DOD MEMO: Remove Travel for Non-Covered Reproductive Health Care Services (pdf)

ENFORCING THE HYDE AMENDMENT (White House)

Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Enforces Overwhelmingly Popular Demand to Stop Taxpayer Funding of Abortion (White House)