Speaker Johnson fails to squash proxy voting effort from new moms in Congress

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson connected Tuesday exercised his powerfulness of the gavel — and tried to bring it down with an unusually assertive effort to squash a connection for caller parents successful Congress to capable to ballot by proxy, alternatively than successful person, arsenic they attraction for newborns.

His program failed, 206-222.

In an unprecedented move, the House Republican enactment had engineered a mode to softly termination the bipartisan program from 2 caller moms—Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida and Democratic Rep. Brittany Pettersen of Colorado. Their program has wide enactment from a bulk of House colleagues. Some 218 lawmakers backed the caller moms, signing connected to a alleged “discharge petition” to unit their connection onto the House level for consideration.

But Johnson, similar GOP leaders earlier him, rails against proxy voting, arsenic President Donald Trump pushes radical backmost to enactment successful the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic enactment from location trend.

A procedural ballot Tuesday volition trial whether the talker — oregon the caller moms — person the tally connected their side. It was turned backmost successful melodramatic fashion, with 9 Republicans joining each Democrats to descend the GOP leaders' effort.

"If we don't bash the close happening now, it'll ne'er beryllium done," said Luna, who gave commencement to her lad successful 2023.

Pettersen with a diaper implicit her enarthrosis and four-month-old son, Sam, successful her arms, stood connected the House level pleaded with colleagues to crook backmost the GOP leadership's effort to halt their resolution.

“It is unfathomable that successful 2025 we person not modernized Congress,” she said. “We're asking you to proceed to basal with us.”

But Johnson had drawn the enactment against proxy voting arsenic unconstitutional.

“Look, I’m a father, I’m pro-family. The Republican Party is pro-family,” the Republican talker said precocious past month. But helium said, "I judge it violates much than 2 centuries of contented and institution. And I deliberation that it opens a Pandora’s box, wherever ultimately, possibly nary 1 is here.”

It’s the archetypal clip successful modern House past that enactment was taking the bonzer measurement to effort to halt a discharge petition erstwhile it’s this acold on successful the process. Next steps are uncertain.

Luna utilized the discharge petition process arsenic she and others grew frustrated that House committees and enactment enactment were not bringing the proxy-voting connection forward. Instead, she and others gathered the bulk signatures needed, 218, to discharge it from limbo, and unit it to the level for action.

At a Rules committee proceeding aboriginal Tuesday, the GOP-led sheet tucked successful a proviso into the regular rules process that would person prohibited not conscionable this discharge petition but immoderate others that effort to propulsion a proxy voting forward.

Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, the apical Democrat connected the panel, said a discharge petition has ne'er been halted earlier astatine this signifier successful the process — a singular determination from Republicans who often run arsenic the enactment aligned with household values.

“Given the accidental to really enactment families, they crook their backs,” helium said. "A bulk of the enclosure is upending what the bulk successful this enclosure wants."

Republicans countered that Luna, who led the discharge effort, did not spell done the regular process, of waiting for their solution to beryllium brought to the level done the regular procedure. And they criticized the impermanent proxy voting argumentation that Democrats enactment successful spot during the pandemic that they said was abused by subordinate absences.

“You person to travel to work, you person to beryllium present,” said Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C. during a committee debate.

Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., the seat of the Rules Committee, decried what she called the “laptop class” successful America that doesn’t person the luxury of moving by proxy. “Members of Congress simply request to amusement up for work,” she said.

About a twelve women person fixed commencement portion successful Congress implicit the years, and determination are galore caller fathers arsenic well. One, Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, had dashed backmost to Washington for votes successful 2023 aft his woman had conscionable fixed commencement and their lad was successful an intensive attraction unit.

Many caller and existing parents were among the 8 different Republicans who joined Luna to propulsion up past leaderships.

Luna’s petition opens the doorway for the House to ballot connected a solution that would let caller parents serving successful Congress to designate a proxy — different subordinate of Congress — to ballot connected their behalf for 12 weeks.

Republicans had barred proxy voting erstwhile they took power of the House from Democrats successful 2023. The caller resolution, which includes circumstantial procedures connected however the caller genitor would present their voting instructions, would mean a alteration successful their House rules.

The solution from the moms allows that a proxy voting process for lawmakers person fixed commencement oregon large lawmakers who are incapable to question safely oregon person a superior aesculapian condition. It besides applies to lawmakers whose spouses are large oregon giving birth.

Under the resolution, a qualifying lawmaker whitethorn designate a proxy to formed for them for up to 12 weeks.

Luna who is among the House's much blimpish lawmakers, made nationalist headlines for her steadfast enactment of Trump. But she resigned this week from the archconservative House Freedom Caucus this week, saying she could nary longer beryllium portion of the radical if members “broker backroom deals” against its values.

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Associated Press writer Matt Brown contributed to this report.