President Biden on Monday said he does not think there are enough votes in Congress to codify Roe v. Wade “unless something happens unusual in the House.”
Biden was holding a rare solo press conference in Indonesia after a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping when NBC News’s Peter Alexander shouted out a question about whether Americans could expect anything in Congress “as it relates to abortion rights.”
“I don’t think they can expect much of anything other than we’re going to maintain our positions. I’m not getting into more questions. I shouldn’t have even answered your question,” Biden replied. Biden was set to answer questions from a preplanned group of reporters, which did not include Alexander.
Though control of the House currently remains up in the air, Republicans are favored to take control of the chamber with a slight majority. Republicans are currently projected to win 212 House seats, while 204 races have been called for Democrats. For control of the House, a party must secure 218 seats.
“I don’t think there’s enough votes to codify unless something happens unusual in the House,” Biden said. “I think we’re going to get very close in the House… but I don’t think we’re going to make it.”
"I don't think there's enough votes to codify, unless something happens unusual in the House."
Biden admits Democrats are poised to lose the House after being asked about the possibility of codifying Roe v. Wade. pic.twitter.com/YfKXZB949I
— National Review (@NRO) November 14, 2022
Biden’s comments come after he announced one month ago that his top legislative priority after the midterm elections would be codifying a national right to abortion if Democrats held control of Congress.
“Here is the promise I make to you and the American people, the first bill I’ll send to Congress is to codify Roe v. Wade,” Biden said last month.
Democrats had a surprisingly successful showing in the midterms, retaining control of the Senate and staving off a predicted red wave in the House.
Abortion seemed to energize voters in several states: Voters in California, Michigan, and Vermont elected to enshrine abortion protections in their state constitutions, while voters in Kentucky rejected an effort to revise the state constitution to make clear there is no protected right to abortion.