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EXCLUSIVE: Planned Parenthood set for massive taxpayer windfall if Senate fails to act
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EXCLUSIVE: A coalition of pro-life groups, including Lila Rose’s Live Action, Students for Life, CatholicVote and others, is urging the Senate to take urgent action to enact a decade-long ban on federal funding for Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers before a July 4 deadline.
Senate Republicans hope to nail down the first step of their party-line funding package for immigration operations this week.
The current prohibition on federal tax dollar funding for abortion businesses, which President Donald Trump signed as part of last year’s budget bill, is set to expire this Independence Day. With the deadline fast approaching and congressional majorities subject to change this November, the groups stressed in a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune that the lives of unborn children — and hundreds of millions in annual tax dollars — are at stake.
In their letter to Thune, the pro-life leaders wrote that extending the prohibition is a matter of urgent fiscal responsibility, saying the «financial stakes are significant» and that a 10-year extension «would represent one of the most meaningful pro-taxpayer reforms Congress can enact.»
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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., teed up a key test vote on a funding package to avert a partial government shutdown as Democratic resistance threatens to thrust Washington, D.C. into chaos. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Before the big, beautiful bill’s provision took effect, Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion business in America, received nearly $800 million annually in taxpayer funding, primarily through federal health programs.
The letter asserts that «at a time of historic federal debt and growing budgetary pressure, continuing to subsidize the abortion industry is neither fiscally responsible nor defensible.»
Though federal law bans taxpayer money from covering most abortions, many Republicans have long argued that abortion businesses such as Planned Parenthood use Medicaid money for other health services to subsidize abortion. Under the tax provision in Trump’s 2025 spending bill, Medicaid payments are barred from going to abortion businesses, including Planned Parenthood.
The letter states that this prohibition «reflected longstanding concerns that many of the nation’s largest abortion businesses engage in activities that extend beyond traditional healthcare services.»
These services, the letter says, include «providing and promoting abortion as a core organizational activity,» offering or referring for gender transition interventions, including for minors, and delivering sex education programs that «promote inappropriate content to minors while denying parents meaningful transparency.»
The letter states that the budget reconciliation process «remains the appropriate and proven legislative vehicle to achieve this objective» and that «defunding provisions fall squarely within reconciliation’s fiscal and policy scope.»
«As the nation approaches the 250th anniversary of American independence,» the pro-life leaders argue that «Congress has an obligation to ensure that federal spending reflects fiscal discipline, accountability, and respect for life.»
PRO-LIFE ORGANIZATION CALLS ON HHS AND FDA TO SUSPEND ABORTION PILL APPROVAL, TIGHTEN SAFETY RULES
Activists opposing funding for Planned Parenthood demonstrate in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, via Getty)
They further framed a ten-year extension as consistent with longstanding bipartisan precedent separating abortion from federal spending. Such an extension, the letter says, would also «provide long-term policy stability, protect taxpayers, and prevent future administrations from restoring funding through executive action alone.»
In response, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood shared a statement in which the organization slammed Republicans for including a provision to make the prohibition permanent in a 2026 reconciliation package framework released by the Republican Study Committee.
Planned Parenthood has said that 23 of its health clinics have been forced to close due to Trump’s spending bill. More than 50 clinics closed in 18 states last year, with most located in the Midwest.
The organization called the 2025 budget bill’s bar on federal dollars for abortion businesses «unconstitutional,» adding that the closure of its locations has left «thousands of patients with fewer options, higher costs, and less freedom to make their own decisions about their lives, bodies, and futures.»
Alexis McGill Johnson, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, said that «any member of Congress who supports this proposal is choosing to sacrifice our health care system and Planned Parenthood health center patients who already struggle to get care, just so they can score points for their anti-abortion agenda,» adding that «people’s ability to get the health care they need is on the line.»
«President Trump and his backers in Congress have already caused irreparable harm when they passed a law ‘defunding’ Planned Parenthood,» said Johnson, concluding that «Planned Parenthood Action Fund will never stop fighting to protect everyone’s access to sexual and reproductive healthcare.»
SENATE GOP READYING PARTY-LINE FUNDING BILL DESPITE DIVISIONS, ANGER AT THE HOUSE
Left: Live Action President and founder Lila Rose. Right: Planned Parenthood President Alexis McGill-Johnson (Live Action; Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images; Photo by Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Rose emphasized in a statement to Fox News Digital that «if Congress does not act, the abortion industry will once again have access to hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars.»
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«This letter makes clear why that cannot be allowed to happen,» wrote Rose, adding, «Planned Parenthood’s core business is abortion. It exists to kill preborn children for profit. It has also become a major promoter of gender ideology, including puberty blockers and cross sex hormones for minors.»
«The Senate should use reconciliation again and enact the strongest defunding measure possible under the law,» she added. «American taxpayers should never be forced to subsidize an industry that distributes cross sex hormones to vulnerable kids and kills millions of preborn American babies through abortion every year.»
In addition to Rose, the letter was signed by Students for Life President Kristan Hawkins, Catholic Vote President Kelsey Reinhardt, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser and 34 other pro-life leaders from across the country.
growing the debt, abortion, budget senate, senate, donald trump, john thune
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Piden a la Unión Europea crear un fondo internacional de reparación a las víctimas del régimen cubano
El Observatorio Cubano de Derechos Humanos (OCDH) presentó ante las autoridades de la Unión Europea (UE) una solicitud formal para la creación de un «Fondo Internacional de Indemnización a las Víctimas de los Crímenes de Lesa Humanidad del Régimen Comunista Cubano“, financiado con los activos malversados por La Habana y depositados en cuentas del exterior.
La petición, acompañada de un informe institucional, fue dirigida a las principales instituciones comunitarias, incluida la presidenta de la Comisión Europea, Ursula von der Leyen, indicó el OCDH en una nota enviada a Infobae.
La propuesta parte de una premisa que el observatorio describe de tan sencilla como incontestable: los bienes expoliados al pueblo cubano deben servir para reparar a ese mismo pueblo.
“Es un patrimonio extraído del sudor de los cubanos”, denunció Alejandro González Raga, director ejecutivo de la organización y ex prisionero de conciencia. El contraste es brutal: mientras el conglomerado militar GAESA —que se estima controla entre el 40 y el 70% de la economía cubana— acumula activos en el exterior, el salario medio en la isla no alcanza los 10 dólares al mes.
Desde 1959, el régimen cubano confiscó la propiedad del pueblo y concentró los activos en esa estructura militar opaca, recordó el informe; al tiempo que remarcó que el Departamento de Estado norteamericano cifra en hasta 20.000 millones de dólares los activos ilícitos de GAESA depositados en cuentas exteriores.
La iniciativa del OCDH se inscribe en el nuevo escenario creado por las recientes acciones de Washington: la Orden Ejecutiva 14404, firmada por el presidente Donald Trump el 1 de mayo pasado, que amplió el programa de sanciones sobre Cuba e introdujo el riesgo de sanciones secundarias para instituciones financieras extranjeras que operen con entidades bloqueadas; y la designación de GAESA, su filial Moa Nickel S.A. y la presidenta ejecutiva del conglomerado, Ania Guillermina Lastres Morera, en la lista de sanciones del Tesoro de Estados Unidos el 7 de mayo, con el consiguiente bloqueo de todos sus bienes bajo jurisdicción estadounidense.
“Cada dólar congelado a GAESA es un dólar disponible para reparar a las víctimas”, señaló el Observatorio Cubano de Derechos Humanos. Además, subrayó que la UE ya dispone de todos los mecanismos jurídicos necesarios para atender la solicitud, pero que hasta ahora ha carecido de voluntad política para activarlos.
Entre los instrumentos señalados figura la cláusula esencial de derechos humanos del Acuerdo de Diálogo Político y de Cooperación (artículo 85.3.b), vigente desde 2017 y nunca activada; el Régimen Global de Sanciones de la UE en materia de Derechos Humanos (Reglamento 2020/1998); la Convención de la ONU contra la Corrupción (UNCAC), que eleva a principio fundamental la recuperación de activos malversados; los Principios y Directrices de la ONU sobre reparación (Resolución 60/147); y precedentes operativos como el Fondo Fiduciario para las Víctimas de la Corte Penal Internacional (CPI) y la Iniciativa StAR del Banco Mundial y la UNODC.
La solicitud apunta directamente a la política de la Unión Europea hacia Cuba desde 2016, cuando el bloque comunitario sustituyó la Posición Común de 1996 por el actual Acuerdo de Diálogo. Según el OCDH, esa transición inauguró una década de intercambios diplomáticos sin resultado tangible: ni un solo preso político liberado en términos netos. La organización rechazó que esa postura sea neutral y la calificó de permisividad encubierta.
Ante ese diagnóstico, el observatorio exigió a la UE cuatro acciones concretas: activar sin demora la cláusula esencial del Acuerdo con Cuba; adoptar sanciones individuales contra los responsables de la represión; coordinar con Estados Unidos el rastreo y la restitución de los activos de GAESA localizados en jurisdicciones europeas; y participar, como organización fundadora, en el Fondo de Indemnización con una contribución inicial y asistencia técnica.
“Reparar con los bienes malversados no es venganza: es restablecer el orden moral que el crimen quebró. Europa fue concebida como una comunidad de valores, no solo de intereses. Ha llegado el momento de demostrarlo”, afirmó González Raga.
La organización se puso a disposición de las instituciones europeas para aportar documentación, peritaje y colaboración técnica en el desarrollo del mecanismo.
Unión Europea,régimen cubano,víctimas,reparación,activistas,derechos humanos,Cuba,política,Bruselas
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The growing list of controversies threatening Democrat Graham Platner’s Maine Senate bid
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Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner has emerged as one of the party’s fastest-rising political figures, drawing national attention for his populist message and outsider image.
But as his profile has grown, so has scrutiny of his past conduct, with controversies ranging from sexually explicit messages and offensive social media posts to a Nazi-linked tattoo and campaign staff upheaval.
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In continued clean-up of those scandals, Platner came to Washington, D.C. on Tuesday to huddle with party figures at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee headquarters just one week before his primary election.
The Marine veteran and oyster farmer has defended himself against the criticism and retained the support of prominent Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. Still, some have questioned whether the allegations could complicate Democrats’ efforts to unseat Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, in one of the nation’s most closely watched Senate races.
Here’s a look at the major controversies that have engulfed Platner’s campaign.
Explicit text messages and sexting allegations
Senate candidate Graham Platner is under fire, but it was his wife Amy Gertner coming out with a controversial five-minute social media post by the campaign to denounce the ‘attacks’ while she did not deny the allegations of infidelity in a new marriage. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The most recent controversy surrounding Platner stems from reports that he exchanged sexually explicit messages with multiple women during his marriage, an issue that campaign aides were reportedly aware of as his Senate bid was taking shape.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Platner’s wife, Amy Gertner, informed a campaign aide about the text exchanges shortly after he launched his Senate bid as staffers were assessing potential political liabilities.
According to the report, Gertner discovered the messages months after the couple married in 2024 and disclosed their existence before her husband held a campaign rally alongside progressive Sen. Sanders. The campaign told Politico that the aide viewed the matter as a private issue between the couple and did not raise concerns about it publicly.
SENATE CANDIDATE GRAHAM PLATNER SENT EXPLICIT TEXTS TO MULTIPLE WOMEN WHILE MARRIED, WIFE SAYS: REPORT
Platner’s campaign later confirmed the existence of the text exchanges to Politico.
He also told Fox News Digital in a statement: «Amy and I went through something hard — because of me. We did the work, and I’m grateful for her every hour of every day.»
«I’ve learned throughout this campaign is that people don’t care about gossip or headlines, they care that you’re fighting for their hospitals, their paycheck, their kids… Our opponents want politics to be empty of content and empty of actual change — and beating that is exactly what our movement is about,» he added.
In a statement to the Journal, Gertner criticized the disclosure of the information, saying she had shared «deeply personal details» about her marriage with someone she considered a friend, only to see those details become public.
She revealed that the two attended couple’s counseling, worked through the issues in their marriage and have since emerged as a stronger couple.
«I know who Graham is. I know the man I married and the husband he has been to me on the best and the worst days of my life,» Gertner said. «That hasn’t changed, and it won’t.»
Nazi-linked tattoo
Graham Platner, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine, points to a covered tattoo that was previously recognized as a Nazi symbol during an interview in Portland, Maine, on Oct. 22, 2025. (WGME via AP)
Platner’s campaign also faced intense scrutiny after it was revealed he once had a skull-and-crossbones tattoo on his chest closely resembling the «Totenkopf» symbol used by Hitler’s SS paramilitary forces.
The Maine Democrat said he got the tattoo during a «night of drinking» while on leave in Croatia in 2007 as a Marine and claimed he was entirely unaware of its meaning at the time.
In an Instagram video posted in May, Platner elaborated on the tattoo’s origins. He explained that he merely selected the design from a flash tattoo wall while «carousing» with fellow Marines in Split, Croatia.
«We thought it looked cool,» he downplayed.
Platner said he was later «appalled» to learn the image resembled a Nazi symbol, arguing that his life and career have been defined by opposition to fascism, racism and Nazism. He also noted that he was never questioned about the tattoo during his military service.
MAINE DEM SENATE HOPEFUL BACKED BY BERNIE SANDERS APOLOGIZES FOR NAZI-STYLE TATTOO, VOWS TO STAY IN RACE
Rather than undergo removal, Platner said he chose to cover the tattoo because tattoo removal services were not readily available near his rural Maine home.
«Going to a tattoo removal place is going to take a while,» he told The Associated Press. «I wanted this thing off my body.»
The symbol was ultimately covered with a tattoo featuring a Celtic knot and images of dogs, which Platner said were meant to honor his family pets.
Deleted Reddit posts reveal offensive comments
U.S. Senate candidate from Maine Graham Platner speaks during a campaign event on May 17, 2026, in Portland, Maine. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The keystone scrutiny Platner has faced during his bid stemmed from thousands of now-deleted Reddit posts that resurfaced after he launched his Senate campaign.
In posts first reported by CNN and Politico, Platner referred to himself as a «communist» and «socialist» and endorsed the slogan «all cops are b—–ds.»
In other posts, he argued that those who «expect to fight fascism without a good semi-automatic rifle, they ought to do some reading of history» and said that «an armed working class is a requirement for economic justice.»
DELETED POSTS URGING VIOLENCE HAUNT DEMOCRATIC SENATE HOPEFUL IN MAINE RACE
The posts under his since-retired username «P-hustle» were deleted before Platner announced his Democratic Senate bid in August.
The candidate has since addressed the posts multiple times, telling CNN and Politico that he was «f—ing around on the internet» during a period when he felt «lost and very disillusioned with our government who sent me overseas to watch my friends die.»
«I made dumb jokes and picked fights,» Platner said. «But of course I’m not a socialist. I’m a small business owner, a Marine Corps veteran, and a retired s—poster.»
In the posts Platner made crude comments about masturbating in port-a-potties and claimed a U.S. service member who took enemy fire in Afghanistan «didn’t deserve to live.»
GRAHAM PLATNER VOWS TO ‘COME AFTER’ BEZOS AS SENATE HOPEFUL ESCALATES BILLIONAIRE TAX FIGHT
The controversies have done little to erode Platner’s standing within the Democratic Party as he has continued to attract national attention and grassroots support in the Democratic primary bid to challenge Sen. Collins for her seat.
Since former Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills halted her campaign in April, much of the party establishment has consolidated behind Platner, and national Democrats have continued to support his candidacy despite the flurry of scandals.
The steady stream of allegations and past controversies has also drawn attention to a little-known provision in Maine election law that allows political parties to replace a nominee under certain circumstances after a primary election.
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Under state law, a candidate who wins a primary and subsequently withdraws by 5 p.m. on July 13 can be replaced by a nominee selected by party officials. Any replacement candidate must then be chosen by 5 p.m. on July 27.
There is currently no indication that Platner plans to withdraw from the race, and the Democratic hopeful has repeatedly vowed to continue his campaign. Still, the provision has drawn renewed interest as questions persist about whether additional revelations could complicate his candidacy.
Platner’s campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
midterm elections, politics, campaigning, maine, bernie sanders, democrats senate
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