Republicans and Democrats team up to defy House leadership on voting for new parents

The House voted connected Tuesday to halt Republican leaders from blocking an impending ballot connected proxy voting for caller parents.

The ballot failed 206-222, with 9 Republicans siding with a unanimous Democratic caucus to signifier an antithetic bipartisan conjugation -- throwing the House successful a impermanent paralysis with the astonishment development.

The associated regularisation they voted connected would person blocked Rep. Anna Paulina Luna's bipartisan discharge petition to let proxy voting for caller lawmaker parents up to 12 weeks aft giving birth.

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Republican Reps. Luna, Kevin Kiley, Tim Burchett, Jeff Van Drew, Greg Steube, Mike Lawler, Ryan Mackenzie, Nick LaLota and Max Miller each voted to defy Speaker Mike Johnson, who has argued the effort is unconstitutional.

House Republican leaders -- including Johnson -- had said they would instrumentality the unprecedented measurement to artifact Luna's petition -- the latest determination successful a weekslong interior House GOP clash.

After the vote, House GOP leaders canceled votes for the remainder of the week.

"No further votes are expected successful the House this week. Next votes are expected astatine astir 6:30 p.m. connected Monday, April 7th. This is simply a alteration from the antecedently announced schedule," the announcement from enactment stated.

"It's disappointing. A fistful of Republicans joined with each the Democrats to instrumentality down a regularisation that's seldom done. It's precise unfortunate," Johnson said aft the vote.

Johnson said due to the fact that the regularisation ballot failed, "we can't person immoderate further enactment connected the level this week."

Luna's authorities seeks to let caller mothers and fathers successful the House to ballot connected authorities remotely. Luna had a kid successful 2023 arsenic she was serving successful Congress.

Democratic Reps. Brittany Pettersen and Sara Jacobs introduced the effort with Luna and Republican Rep. Lawler successful January.

"I americium doing this due to the fact that I judge this governing assemblage needs to alteration for the amended and young American parents request to beryllium heard successful the halls of Congress," Luna said past week.

Pettersen spoke successful favour of Luna's solution connected the House level Tuesday arsenic she held her 9-week-old son, Sam.

As Sam cooed, squealed, squeaked and cried successful his mother's arms, Pettersen -- with a burp cloth slung implicit her enarthrosis -- pleaded for bipartisan practice to "modernize Congress" and code beingness events for lawmakers.

"No ma oregon dada should beryllium successful the presumption that I was successful and truthful galore parents person recovered themselves in. It is anti-woman, it's anti-family and we request to travel together," she said connected the House floor.

Pettersen is lone the 13th subordinate of the House to person fixed commencement portion serving successful Congress -- and returning to Washington aft her lad was calved prematurely meant she "faced an intolerable decision."

"We person a agelong ways to spell to marque this spot accessible for young families similar mine," Pettersen said. "For each of the parents here, we cognize that erstwhile we person newborns, it's erstwhile they're the astir susceptible successful their life. It's erstwhile they request 24-7 care."

Luna received 218 signatures connected her solution -- capable needed to unit the House to ballot connected the measure. Lawmakers usage discharge petitions to circumvent leadership, who find what authorities comes to the floor.

Johnson and Luna person been astatine likelihood implicit proxy voting for caller parents.

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Johnson has argued that proxy voting is the commencement of a slippery slope that could pb to much and much members voting remotely. Proxy voting was utilized during the COVID-19 pandemic, which galore Republicans were against.

"I judge it's unconstitutional. I judge it violates much than 2 centuries of contented successful the institution, and I deliberation that it opens a Pandora's container where, ultimately, possibly nary 1 is here, and we're each voting remotely by AI oregon something. I don't know. I don't deliberation that's what Congress is expected to be," Johnson said astatine a quality league past week.

Despite immoderate Republican enactment for the bill, Johnson said "as the person of this instauration and the 1 who's expected to support it, I don't consciousness similar I tin get connected committee with that."

"This is simply a deliberative body. You cannot deliberate with your colleagues if you're retired determination else. Now, determination are household circumstances that marque it hard for radical to be votes. I recognize that. I've had them myself," helium said.

The ballot came a time aft Luna resigned from the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus implicit her legislation, according to a missive obtained by ABC News.

"With a dense heart, I americium resigning from the Freedom Caucus. I cannot stay portion of a caucus wherever a prime fewer run extracurricular its guidelines, misuse its name, broker backroom deals that undermine its halfway values and wherever the lines of compromise and transaction are blurred, disparage maine to the press, and promote misrepresentation of maine to the American people," she wrote successful the letter.

ABC News' Lalee Ibssa and Sarah Beth Hensley contributed to this report.

Republicans and Democrats squad up to defy House enactment connected voting for caller parents primitively appeared connected abcnews.go.com