Luna Unveils Updated Framework for Parental Proxy Voting Following Trump’s Endorsement

April 4, 2025 TruthUSA

The House Republican leadership has quietly attempted to set aside the initiative that would allow new parents in Congress to vote remotely for 12 weeks.

On April 3, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) revealed that she and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) have discussed potential solutions regarding proxy voting for new parents, a topic that has caused a rift among Republicans for several weeks.

Luna initially garnered support from a few Republicans for her proposal to enable new parents to vote remotely for 12 weeks. This effort received a significant endorsement when President Donald Trump expressed his support on the same day.

“I like the idea,” Trump remarked to reporters aboard Air Force One. “If you’re having a baby, I think you should be able to call in and vote.”

Luna has been advocating for a vote on Rep. Brittany Petterson’s (D-Colo.) proposal, which would permit new parents to vote by proxy for up to 12 weeks after the birth of their child. However, she has encountered resistance from Johnson and other GOP leaders.

After Trump’s supportive comments, Luna announced that she and Johnson had outlined a compromise solution.

“We discussed limiting the vote to just new moms who cannot physically travel in the event of an emergency, etc.,” Luna mentioned in a post on X.

Although this narrows the focus of the proposal significantly, Luna expressed satisfaction with the arrangement, stating, “This is smart.” She highlighted that only 13 women have given birth while serving in Congress, indicating that the impact of the reduced proposal would likely be minimal.

This compromise signals an end to a protracted debate that has left Republicans at odds, as leadership aimed to dismiss the resolution entirely.

Party leaders 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 lengthy statement shared on X on April 2, Johnson affirmed his support for families, drawing on his own experience as part of a large family, and cautioned that permitting proxy voting for new parents could lead to unintended consequences.

“Granting proxy voting for one group of Members could set a precedent for others, eventually resulting in remote voting, which would negatively affect the functioning of our deliberative body and undermine the essential role of the legislative branch,” Johnson emphasized.

Due to leadership’s opposition, Luna has turned to a parliamentary strategy called a discharge petition, which could compel a floor vote on the bill.

While the speaker usually controls what is voted on in the House, a discharge petition—which needs 218 signatures—can force the legislation to be put on the floor without the speaker’s approval.

Luna’s petition has received the support of 206 Democrats and 12 Republicans, narrowly surpassing the 218-vote threshold required to secure a floor vote.

On April 1, Johnson and House Republican leaders attempted to preempt the vote required by Luna’s petition through a parliamentary maneuver that would have sidelined the petition by tabling it through a vote on an unrelated election integrity bill.

However, the attempt to quietly terminate the bill failed, as nine Republicans joined all Democrats in voting against the motion, thus allowing Luna’s petition to move forward while also preventing the related election integrity bill from reaching the floor.

Following this effort, Johnson expressed his “great disappointment” over the result. Lawmakers were sent home as the remainder of the week’s sessions were canceled.

In a post on X, Luna accused the leadership of “playing political games” with Trump’s agenda.

This situation led Luna to depart from the House Freedom Caucus, the influential conservative faction within the House GOP.

Until now, both Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) had indicated their firm opposition to the measure.

With the framework for an agreement now established, it seems likely that a revised proposal will be brought to the floor for a vote sometime next week.

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