House Republican leaders tried, and failed, to kill an effort to allow proxy voting for new parents in the chamber.
It was a big win for Colorado Democratic Rep. Brittany Pettersen and Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna. The two women have been trying to get this change done in the House since the last Congress.
And it was a loss for Speaker Mike Johnson, who, along with much of House leadership, opposes proxy voting, calling it unconstitutional, even as he used it himself when it was allowed during the pandemic.
But it’s a setback that he hopes is temporary. House leaders left the Capitol saying they will again try to stop proxy voting through a rule next week.
Luna and Pettersen had pushed for a House vote on the change through a legislative maneuver known as a discharge petition. With 218 signatures, rank-and-file lawmakers can bypass House leadership and force a vote on a particular piece of legislation. Over two days, a dozen Republicans bucked their leaders and signed onto the petition, along with over 200 Democrats, early last month.
In an attempted end run, early Tuesday leaders inserted language to kill the proxy voting resolution, and anything similar in the future, into the rules package that lays out debate on legislation for the week.
Luna described the language as a “discharge petition killer” that would paint anyone voting against the rule as being opposed to the bills being debated, which this week includes a Republican priority bill to require proof of U.S. citizenship to vote. She added that leadership was “trying to change the rules” because her side was successful at getting the required number of signatures.
Still, instead of passing along party lines as usual, Luna and eight other Republicans voted against the rule, ending Johnson’s attempt to kill proxy voting this Congress, 206-222. All of Colorado’s Republicans voted for the rule, while the state’s Democrats voted against it.
After the vote, the Florida congresswoman joked “Never bet against the Luna.”
She called it a historical day for the chamber. “it’s showing that the body has decided that parents deserve a voice in Washington and also the importance of female members having a vote in Washington, D.C.”
Luna and Pettersen worked as a team and praised each other’s efforts.
“Speaker Johnson pulled out all the stops and people continued to stand with us,” Pettersen said. “We’re changing the way that Congress works, making sure that moms and parents have a voice and I am just so proud to be part of this.”
The issue has caused divisions among House Republicans. Earlier this week, Luna resigned from the House Freedom Caucus as some in the group worked to block her effort.
“I cannot remain part of a caucus where a select few operate outside its guidelines, misuse its name, broker backroom deals that undermine its core values and where the lines of compromise and transaction are blurred, disparage me to the press, and encourage misrepresentation of me to the American people,” she said in her letter stepping away from the group.
In 2023, Luna was the 12th lawmaker to give birth while serving. At the time she appealed to GOP leaders to adjust rules for new parents to no avail.
Earlier this year, Pettersen became the 13th and GOP Rep. Kat Cammack will soon be the 14th. She announced she’s expecting her first child in August.
“I’m really excited to think that [Cammack] will not go through what we went through, on trying to make sure that we’re representing our constituents and taking care of our baby. So it’s all worth it – changing Congress for the better,” Pettersen said.
That change may have to wait a little bit longer. While Luna moved to have the resolution brought up to the floor within the next two legislative days, House leaders canceled votes for the rest of the week.
