Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is scrambling to break the impasse over the push to allow proxy voting for new parents, as the standoff between GOP leadership and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) hardens.
A band of nine Republicans, led by Luna, joined with Democrats Tuesday to torpedo a vote on a procedural rule that included language to thwart the proxy voting effort, halting unrelated key legislative business on the House floor and prompting leadership to send lawmakers home for the week.
To re-open the floor, Johnson has to advance a procedural rule, which governs debate for legislation. First, however, he must solve the proxy voting dilemma.
Johnson said Wednesday that some Republicans are refusing to vote for rules going forward “until we stop the proxy initiative.” Traditionally, only the majority party votes in favor of rules, meaning just a few Republicans can continue to grind work to a halt.
Raising the stakes, the House is eyeing a vote next week on adopting a compromise budget resolution to advance parts of President Trump's legislative agenda if the Senate moves ahead this week — which the lower chamber will be unable to do without action on the parental proxy voting front.
The path forward is shaping up to be an uphill battle as Luna digs in on her parental proxy voting push, top lawmakers remain categorically opposed to the effort, and the clock ticks on the deadline for leadership to move on the resolution.
As of Wednesday evening, Johnson did not have a solution to the stalemate.
“We’re gonna find a path through this, we’re working on that,” he told reporters. “I’ve talked to everybody who voted against the rule and we’ll work it out. So we got time to do it and those conversations continue.”
The Speaker did, however, show some of his cards on Wednesday, revealing in a statement on X that he is “actively working on every possible accommodation to make Congressional service simpler for young mothers,” a potential attempt at compromise with Luna.
Asked by The Hill later what changes he is eyeing, he floated a room for nursing mothers right off the House floor and potentially allowing new mothers to use official funds to travel back-and-forth from their districts to Washington.
“We want to accommodate mothers who want to serve in Congress, and we’re the pro-family party so we’ll do that,” Johnson said. “But we can’t do something that violates the Constitution or destroys the institution we serve in, and that’s what I’m afraid of. The proxy-vote gambit opens us a Pandora’s box and it’s one that I’m not gonna be involved in opening.”
It is unclear, however, if those offerings would be enough to get Luna to relent on her push for a vote on parental proxy voting. She continued pushing for the practice Wednesday night.
“A lot of vocal members have voted by proxy, I haven’t. I’m just trying to ensure that the president’s agenda is delivered on, and that also female representatives truly have the ability to represent their constituents in Washington if there’s an issue during childhood,” Luna said on NewsNation Wednesday night.
If Luna does not let go of her push in light of Johnson’s new accommodations, which is expected, the Speaker will have to go back to the drawing board as he looks for ways to bury her effort.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) told The Hill on Wednesday that leadership is looking at bringing up another rule next week that would again include language to “turn off” the ...
