House Rejects GOP Leaders’ Bid to Block Proxy Voting for Members Who Are New Parents

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) opposed the resolution, calling proxy voting ‘unconstitutional.’

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) looks on during a House Oversight Subcommittee hearing at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on April 1, 2025. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

WASHINGTON—The House voted on April 1 to reject a move by House GOP leadership to thwart a resolution that would allow lawmakers who are new parents to vote in the chamber remotely.

The tally was 206–222. Nine Republicans joined all Democrats in voting against the rule that would have prevented a vote on the resolution.

The Republicans who voted with the Democrats were Reps. Anna Paulina Luna (Fla.), Mike Lawler (N.Y.), Jeff Van Drew (N.J.), Max Miller (Ohio), Ryan Mackenzie (Pa.), Tim Burchett (Tenn.), Greg Steube (Fla.), Kevin Kiley (Calif.), and Nick LaLota (N.Y.).

A discharge petition requires the signatures of 218 members to force a measure onto the House floor. That number is how many votes are needed to pass measures in the House.

The petition was led by Luna. The resolution was introduced by Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-Colo.), who gave birth to her second child in January. The discharge petition has the support of 12 Republicans and 206 Democrats. Luna gave birth in 2023 as a freshman member of Congress.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) opposed the resolution, calling proxy voting “unconstitutional.”

Johnson sought to thwart the measure by putting forth a rule that made it out of order and prohibited similar resolutions from being put forth. His colleagues, including Luna, have noted that he voted by proxy.

The resolution would allow female House members and their spouses 12 weeks of voting by proxy following the birth of their child. It would also allow pregnant women to vote by proxy.

The 12-week period would begin once the member has activated that option. Voting by proxy requires members to send a letter to the House clerk with their vote and explaining why they are absent from voting in person.

“Congress makes no accommodations for new parents, so while I’m recovering and taking care of my newborn at this critical time, it’s incredibly unfair that my constituents will not have a voice in Congress until I am physically able to return to Washington,” Pettersen said in a statement.

“No member should have to choose between caring for their newborn and representing their constituents.”

Pettersen returned to Congress on Feb. 25 as the House passed its budget resolution that would begin the process of passing President Donald Trump’s agenda through a mechanism called reconciliation.

“No parent should have to choose between caring for their child, or recovering from childbirth, and fulfilling their duties in Congress to represent their constituents,” Luna said in a statement.

“Congress needs to get with the times. This bipartisan proposal is vital in promoting a pro-family Washington, where every American has a voice and the unwavering representation they deserve.”

Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), a cosponsor of the resolution, said in a statement that when she arrived in Congress in 2021, she “froze [her] eggs and delayed starting a family partly because of the demands of this job and the constant travel.”

Lawler said that when it comes to being the spouse of a woman giving birth, fatherhood is crucial during the first few weeks of the baby’s life.

Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-N.M.) said at a press conference after the vote: “We need Congress to look like America.”

“We need women who conserve and care for their newborn babies, so we celebrate today the defeat of the rule that would have made that harder,” she continued.

Johnson called the vote “disappointing.”

With the rule being voted down, the House canceled votes for the remainder of the week.

Proxy voting was a point of contention during the COVID-19 pandemic. Between 2020 and 2023, members of Congress were able to cast a vote remotely, and some members took advantage of the accommodation. In 2022, then-Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.) used proxy voting not because he had COVID-19 but because he was at a wedding in the south of France.

Arjun Singh contributed to this report.