DOGE Panel Turns Up Heat on Planned Parenthood Abortion, Gender Treatments

A House panel that oversees government accounting and grants management is ramping up an investigation into whether Planned Parenthood affiliates are using federal tax dollars for abortions, or for “gender-affirming care” for minors.

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., the chairman of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency, and Oversight Committee member Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., wrote to 11 separate Planned Parenthood affiliates, asserting that the nation’s largest abortion provider for almost a year failed to fully respond to questions about its spending of federal dollars.

The subcommittee first sought documents from the Planned Parenthood affiliates in June 2025.

“As of now—nearly one year later—Planned Parenthood has yet to fully comply with the Subcommittee’s letter and provide the requested documents and communications,” the lawmakers wrote in the letters sent on Friday.

The letters note that in fiscal year 2023, about $800 million in federal funds went to Planned Parenthood. They further note concerns about “commingling federal funds and using them for unpermitted purposes.”

Under Title X of the Public Health Service Act, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, federal money cannot be used for abortion.

The “One Big, Beautiful Bill” that passed in July defunded Planned Parenthood for one year, but the funding is set to go back into place on July 4.

The letters from Burchett and Biggs were addressed to Planned Parenthood North Central States; Planned Parenthood of Michigan; Planned Parenthood of Illinois; Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio; Planned Parenthood of Greater New York; Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties; Planned Parenthood of Southern New England; and Planned Parenthood of Maryland.

The first inquiries, in June, were sent by then-subcommittee Chair Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who has since resigned from Congress. She only sent a letter requesting the information from Planned Parenthood Federation of America President Alexis McGill.

That June 2025 letter noted that Planned Parenthood’s own annual report shows that it performed more than 400,000 abortions, an increase of 23% over the last 10 years, and 63% fewer prenatal services and 38% fewer contraceptive services compared to a decade earlier.

Further, the initial letter notes that cross-sex hormones, puberty blockers, surgical referrals, and other forms of “gender-affirming care” were conducted with little or no medical or psychological evaluation.

The organization’s 2022–2023 annual report states that “Planned Parenthood affiliates offered gender-affirming hormone therapy in 2022.”

The 2024–2025 report doesn’t specify a number on gender-related services, but says it is studying the effects of laws restricting “gender” care and abortions.

Regarding the gender issue, in a post on Bluesky on Sunday, Planned Parenthood said, “On International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia, we want to be clear: Your gender identity is not up for debate. You deserve the right to live freely and fully —– just as you are.”

Planned Parenthood Federation of America did not respond to phone and email inquiries for this story on Monday.

Planned Parenthood leaders have asserted in the past that federal funding is used for other health services, but not abortion.

A May 2025 Kaiser Family Foundation policy brief said, “According to Planned Parenthood’s 2022–2023 Annual Report, abortion services make up 4% of all the health services they provide, and federal funds rarely go toward abortion care (only in cases of rape, incest, and life-threatening situations).”