WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court appeared divided Wednesday in a case over whether states should be able to cut off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood, which comes amid a wider push from abortion opponents to defund the nation’s largest abortion provider.
Low-income patients who go there for things like contraception, cancer screenings and pregnancy testing could see their care upended if the court sides with South Carolina leaders who say no public money should go the organization.
The court is considering a legal question that could have wider effects: Whether Medicaid patients can continue to sue over the right to choose their own qualified provider.
South Carolina says those lawsuits aren't allowed and barring them would save public money in legal fees. Some conservatives appeared open to that argument. Justice Brett Kavanaugh said there has been confusion over the question in lower courts. “One of my goals coming out of this will be to provide that clarity,” Kavanaugh said.
The Trump administration weighed in to argue against the right to sue, with attorney Kyle Hawkins saying the government had “re-evaluated its position” after the election and come down on South Carolina's side.
The state says people could go through an administrative appeal process if denied coverage, though justices like Amy Coney Barrett raised questions about whether that would work for low-income patients. “That’s the beneficiary taking the risk, going to the provider she wants to see, and then potentially having to pay out of pocket, right?”
Planned Parenthood argues that Congress clearly wanted people to be able to make their own “intensely personal” decisions about which doctor to visit, and lawsuits are the only real way that right has been enforced.
Justice Elena Kagan agreed that patients do have the right to choose their doctor under the law, and suggested that blocking them from suing would be a sea change. “This is kind of changing the rules midstream, isn’t it?” Kagan said.
People on both sides of the issue gathered outside the court for demonstrations that included a brass band before arguments unfolded.
The case started in 2018, before the court's decision that overturned the nationwide right to abortion. South Carolina has since banned it after around six weeks’ gestation.
South Carolina's move to cut off Medicaid funding was blocked in court following a lawsuit from Medicaid patient Julie Edwards, who wanted to keep going to Planned Parenthood for the birth control she needed because her diabetes could make it dangerous for her to carry a pregnancy to term, according to court papers. The state eventually appealed to the Supreme Court.
Federal law prohibits Medicaid money from being used for abortions, with very limited exceptions, but patients often go there for other services because it can be tough to find doctors who accept the publicly funded insurance program and can schedule appointments quickly.
Other conservative states have also moved to cut Planned Parenthood out of the Medicaid program, and more would likely follow if South Carolina prevails. Attorneys for the state say patients can visit other health centers for care.
About one-quarter of everyone in the U.S. is enrolled in the program, and the American Cancer Society has said that losing the ability to sue would hurt their access to care, especially in rural areas.
In South Carolina, $90,000 in Medicaid funding goes to Planned Parenthood every year — a tiny fraction of a percentage point of the state’s total Medicaid spending.
Anti-abortion demonstrators place ballots as they rally outside the Supreme in Washington, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Abortion-rights activists rally outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Abortion-rights activists and anti-abortion demonstrators rally outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has abruptly fired the director of the National Security Agency, according to U.S. officials and members of Congress, but the White House and the Pentagon have provided no reasons for the move.
Senior military leaders were informed Thursday of the firing of Air Force Gen. Tim Haugh, who also oversaw the Pentagon’s Cyber Command, the officials said. They received no advance notice about the decision to remove a four-star general with a 33-year career in intelligence and cyber operations, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel decisions.
The move has triggered sharp criticism from members of Congress and demands for an immediate explanation. And it marks the latest dismissal of national security officials by Trump at a time when his Republican administration faces criticism over his failure to take any action against other key leaders' use of an unclassified Signal messaging chat that included The Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg to discuss plans for a military strike.
It's unclear who now is in charge of the NSA and the Cyber Command.
Also fired was Haugh's civilian deputy at the NSA, Wendy Noble.
The NSA notified congressional leadership and top lawmakers of the national security committees of the firing late Wednesday but did not give reasons, according to a person familiar with the situation who insisted on anonymity to discuss the matter. The person said Noble has been reassigned to the office of the defense undersecretary for intelligence.
The White House did not respond to messages seeking comment. The NSA referred questions about Haugh to the Defense Department, which had no comment Friday.
Far-right activist and commentator Laura Loomer appeared to take credit Friday in a post on X, saying she raised concerns to Trump about Haugh’s ties to Gen. Mark Milley and the Biden administration and questioned the NSA chief's loyalty to the president. Milley served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during Trump’s first term but has since become an outspoken critic.
“Given the fact that the NSA is arguably the most powerful intel agency in the world, we cannot allow for a Biden nominee to hold that position,” Loomer wrote. “Thank you President Trump for being receptive to the vetting materials provided to you and thank you for firing these Biden holdovers.”
Loomer, who has claimed the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks were an “inside job,” had discussed staff loyalty with Trump in an Oval Office meeting Wednesday, according to several people familiar with the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive personnel manner. A day later, Trump said he fired “some” White House National Security Council officials.
Rep. Jim Himes, ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, sent a letter to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth demanding to know why Haugh and Noble were fired.
“Public reporting suggests that your removal of these officials was driven by a fringe social media personality, which represents a deeply troubling breach of the norms that safeguard our national security apparatus from political pressure and conspiracy theories,” Himes, D-Conn., wrote.
Sen. Jack Reed, a Democrat from Rhode Island, said Friday that he has “long warned about the dangers of firing military officers as a political loyalty test.”
"In addition to the other military leaders and national security officials Trump has fired, he is sending a chilling message throughout the ranks: don’t give your best military advice, or you may face consequences,” Reed said in a statement.
He added that Trump “has given a priceless gift to China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea by purging competence from our national security leadership.”
Another Democrat, Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the U.S. was “facing unprecedented cyber threats” and asked how firing Haugh, who has served in the military for more than 30 years, makes America safer.
Haugh's firing sets off a 60-day process. Unless he is moved to another three- or four-star job in 60 days he would automatically revert to a two-star.
Any new high-level job would be unlikely since that would require a nomination from Trump, who just fired him. As a result, Haugh, who was confirmed for the NSA job in a unanimous Senate vote in December 2023, would likely retire.
Trump hasn't commented on Haugh or Noble, but on Thursday he dismissed the National Security Council firings as normal.
“Always we’re letting go of people,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he made his way to Miami on Thursday afternoon. “People that we don’t like or people that we don’t think can do the job or people that may have loyalties to somebody else.”
The firings come as Trump's national security adviser, Mike Waltz, fights calls for his ouster after using the publicly available encrypted Signal app to discuss planning for a sensitive March 15 military operation targeting Houthi militants in Yemen.
Warner called it “astonishing” that Trump "would fire the nonpartisan, experienced leader of the National Security Agency while still failing to hold any member of his team accountable for leaking classified information on a commercial messaging app — even as he apparently takes staffing direction on national security from a discredited conspiracy theorist in the Oval Office.”
Haugh met last month with Elon Musk, whose Department of Government Efficiency has roiled the federal government by slashing personnel and budgets at dozens of agencies. In a statement, the NSA said the meeting was intended to ensure both organizations are “aligned” with the new administration’s priorities.
Haugh had led both the NSA and Cyber Command since 2023. Both departments play leading roles in the nation’s cybersecurity. The NSA also supports the military and other national security agencies by collecting and analyzing a vast amount of data and information globally.
Cyber Command is known as America’s first line of defense in cyberspace and also plans offensive cyberoperations for potential use against adversaries.
Associated Press writers Matthew Lee, Aamer Madhani, Zeke Miller, David Klepper and Lou Kesten in Washington contributed to this report.
FILE - Right-wing activist Laura Loomer speaks in front of the courthouse where the hush-money trial of Donald Trump is underway, April 15, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
President Donald Trump, center, arrives on Air Force One at Miami International Airport, Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
