Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) announced on April 3 that she and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) have discussed a way forward over the issue of proxy-voting for new parents, an issue that has divided Republicans for weeks.
Initially assisted in her efforts by a handful of Republicans, Luna’s push to give new parents 12 weeks to vote remotely received a major boost when President Donald Trump gave it his blessing on the same day.
“I like the idea,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One. “If you’re having a baby, I think you should be able to call in and vote.”
Luna has sought to force a vote on Rep. Brittany Petterson’s (D-Colo.) measure to allow new parents to vote by proxy for up to 12 weeks following the birth of a child—but has faced opposition from Johnson and GOP leadership.
Following Trump’s statement in support of Luna’s move, the Florida lawmaker announced that she and Johnson had reached an outline of a compromise.
Though this reduces the scope of the resolution substantially, Luna seemed content with the proposal, writing, “This is smart.” She noted that only 13 women have given birth while in Congress, making the likely impact of the pared-down proposal minimal.
The apparent compromise marks an end to a long saga that left Republicans divided as leadership sought to squelch the resolution altogether.
Leaders said that the original measure was unconstitutional under Article 1, Section 5 of the Constitution, which could be interpreted as requiring in-person voting.
“To allow proxy voting for one category of Members would open the door for many others, and ultimately result in remote voting that would harm the operation of our deliberative body and diminish the critical role of the legislative branch,” Johnson wrote.
Because of leadership’s opposition, Luna has relied on a parliamentary measure known as a discharge petition that could force a floor vote on the bill.
While the speaker usually has nearly unilateral authority over what comes to the floor, a discharge petition, which requires 218 signatures, can require that the attached legislation be brought to the floor without the speaker’s consent, or against their wishes.
Luna’s petition won the backing of 206 Democrats and 12 Republicans—just enough to pass the 218-vote threshold needed to force a floor vote.
On April 1, Johnson and House Republican leadership sought to head off the vote required by Luna’s petition through a parliamentary move that would have tabled the petition through a vote on an unrelated rule related to an election integrity bill.
Following that effort, Johnson told reporters he was “very disappointed” by the outcome. Lawmakers were sent home with the rest of the week’s session cancelled.
Luna in a post on X accused the leadership of “playing political games” with Trump’s agenda.
The issue also led Luna to leave the House Freedom Caucus—the powerful conservative flank of the House GOP.
Until now, Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) had indicated that they remained set on killing the measure.
With the outlines of an agreement reached, it’s likely that a revised measure will be brought to the floor sometime next week for a vote.
