Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., who is set to chair the powerful House Appropriations Committee, said next year the House will eliminate the so-called Hyde Amendment, a decades-old policy that prohibits federal programs like Medicaid from paying for abortions.

“This is the last year,” DeLauro said at a Dec. 8 hearing about the adverse effects of the Hyde Amendment. “The time has come in this current moment to reckon with the norm, with the status quo.”…

But most Republican lawmakers oppose abortion rights and favor the Hyde restrictions. Even if they lose control of the Senate in the Georgia runoffs Jan. 5, they’ll retain filibuster power and be able to force a 60-vote threshold to pass a bill in the chamber.

If Biden uses his veto power to demand removal of the Hyde Amendment, it could enhance the Democrats’ leverage. But the president-elect’s recent focus has been on other matters and it’s not clear how much political capital he will spend on that goal.