WASHINGTON – The home on Tuesday beat an effort that would have effectively killed a push to allow new parents Vote remotely for the birth of a childan embarrassing loss for House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Nine Republicans joined and supported all Democrats during the procedural vote. Johnson called the outcome “unfortunate,” adding that “a handful of Republicans, together with all Democrats, took the rules out – it was rare.”
Johnson said he has suspended more legislative measures this week.
“Let this be clear. The fact that the rules have been overturned means we can’t do any more on the floor this week,” Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, told reporters after the vote. “That’s a very unfortunate. We’re going to reorganize and come back.”
This week, along with Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, the fight over whether to allow remote voting for new moms and dads to serve in Congress this week. Leave the Freedom Caucus of Conservative House Just as her colleagues opposed bipartisan measures.
The measure, introduced in January by Colorado Democrat Brittany Pettersen, will allow new parents to vote for their colleagues or their spouses to vote for 12 weeks after giving birth. The bill also allows lawmakers to start early if they have serious medical conditions or are unable to travel safely.
However, Johnson and other Republicans are opposed to the proxy vote, claiming it is unconstitutional. Republicans argued that the measure would create slippery slopes for members to abuse practice, despite being narrowly adjusted to new pregnant parents.
Co-star on the bill, Luna, has moved to avoid leadership and has launched a discharge petition that forces her to vote for the measure if she secures at least a simple majority. Luna’s discharge petition quickly reached a threshold, signed by 206 Democrats and 11 other Republicans.
Republicans then sought to derail Luna’s efforts by inserting language into rules governing debates over unrelated bills on election safety that present her discharge petition.
In a letter resigning from the House Freedom Caucus Monday, Luna accused Johnson of threatening her, stopping the floor lawsuit indefinitely unless her efforts were blocked. She called the tactic “betrayal of trust.”
“The speaker is being held hostage,” Luna told reporters Monday.
Luna argues that it is not unconstitutional for new parents to vote remotely, as members who vote on the proxy don’t count towards the quorum. Luna noted that people themselves for practice were voted by proxy during the pandemic, including Johnson.
Democrats began proxy votes during the pandemic, but ended by Republicans who regained their House majority in 2023.
Petersen introduced the bill in January before giving birth to her son in Colorado. The Democrats rushed back to Washington with their then-4-week-old son to vote for the budget resolution.
On Tuesday, Petersen bouncing her noisy baby into the arms of her arm as she urged her colleagues to help her new mother with a remote voting.
“It is immeasurable that in 2025 we did not modernize Congress to address these very unique challenges our members face. These life events should still be expressed as our voices should still be heard.”
Luna experienced complications since her son’s birth in 2023, preventing her from participating in the vote.
I contributed to this report.
