Democrats in Congress Dismiss Compromise on Parent Proxy Voting

April 8, 2025 TruthUSA

Former President Trump has voiced his support for the notion of allowing new mothers to vote by proxy.

Leading an initiative to permit new parents in Congress to vote by proxy, Democrats have dismissed a compromise proposal put forth by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) that would have diluted their original plan.

A resolution sponsored by Rep. Brittany Petterson (D-Colo.) seeks to grant new parents of any gender a 12-week period to stay home with their newborns while having the ability to vote by proxy.

In response to significant opposition from Johnson and the Republican leadership, Luna spearheaded an effort to compel a vote on the legislation through a discharge petition, successfully garnering enough signatures to bring it to the floor despite Johnson’s objections.

On April 4, Luna announced that she and Johnson had reached an agreement that significantly narrowed the scope of Petterson’s proposal: the compromise would allow new mothers to arrange for members of the opposing party to abstain from voting if the mother was unable to attend.

While the compromise appeased Luna, Petterson and Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), who collaborated with Luna in advocating for the proposal, stated that the agreement does not adequately address the critical issues in a statement.

Petterson expressed her gratitude to Luna for her advocacy but noted that the compromise “fails to resolve the obstacles we have worked tirelessly to overcome.”

Jacobs commented, “From the outset, our unified goal has been to support new parents in fulfilling their duties while also caring for themselves and their families.”

“Regrettably, this ‘deal’ falls short of that objective—marginalizing new parents and maintaining an ineffective Congress that does not serve its constituents effectively.”

Petterson criticized Johnson for going to “extraordinary lengths” to obstruct a vote on the discharge petition, despite supporters adhering to appropriate procedures.

Last week, the issue resulted in a divided Republican conference, leading to an early adjournment of the session.

On April 1, Johnson and House Republican leadership attempted to circumvent the vote required by Luna’s petition through a parliamentary maneuver aimed at tabling it via a vote on an unrelated rule concerning election integrity.

However, the leadership effort failed as nine Republicans joined all Democrats in a rejection of the proposed rule.

After that vote, Johnson expressed his “great disappointment” with the result. Due to the cancelled session, lawmakers were sent home for the remainder of the week.

Luna, in a statement on X, accused leadership of “playing political games” with Trump’s agenda.

This issue also prompted Luna to withdraw from the House Freedom Caucus, a powerful conservative faction within the House GOP.

The compromise deal was largely a result of President Donald Trump expressing his support for Luna’s proposal.

“I think it’s a good idea,” Trump stated to reporters aboard Air Force One on April 4. “If you’re having a baby, I believe you should be able to call in and vote.”

Leadership argued that the original proposal was unconstitutional under Article 1, Section 5 of the Constitution, which some interpret as necessitating in-person voting.

In a detailed statement shared on X on April 2, Johnson declared his support for families, highlighting his own large family while stating that permitting proxy voting for new parents could set a precarious precedent.

“Allowing proxy voting for one group of Members would pave the way for many others, ultimately resulting in remote voting that would undermine the functioning of our legislative body and weaken the essential role of Congress,” Johnson asserted.

The controversy has drawn parallels to the proxy voting rules established under former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic until Republicans regained the majority in 2023.

At that time, Republicans staunchly maintained that the Constitution mandated in-person voting, and many viewed a change in stance on this issue as hypocritical.

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