Republican Representative Anna Paulina Luna indicated on Thursday evening that she and Speaker Mike Johnson might have discovered a solution to resolve their disagreement. the topic of distant balloting For new parents in Congress.
Following multiple hours during which Luna, Johnson, and President Donald Trump engaged in telephone conversations, Luna proposed a potential exit from the controversial prolonged drama. screeched the House floor to a standstill this week.
Luna said on X Johnson reached out to her to talk about potentially compromising on the issue by suggesting "restricting the vote to only new mothers with health issues preventing them from traveling."
Johnson's office didn't promptly reply to requests for comments.
Following Trump's endorsement of Luna’s initiative to permit new mothers in Congress to cast votes remotely, it remained uncertain if she had returned to her original proposal. This would allow women legislators to delegate their voting rights via proxy for six weeks postpartum—a suggestion previously dismissed by Johnson, leading Luna to collaborate with Democrats and broaden her legislation to cover all new parents regardless of gender.
Should GOP leaders remain inactive regarding this impasse, Luna could utilize the so-called discharge petition—a mechanism for bypassing party leadership—to bring her legislation to the floor next week. However, both GOP leadership and numerous Freedom Caucus members have strongly resisted altering House procedures, resulting in an ongoing deadlock.
For months, Johnson and Luna have been at odds over the Florida congresswoman’s initiative to permit proxies for parents of newborns — a proposal she initiated following her own childbirth last year when she couldn’t cast votes for several weeks. However, the staunchly institutionalist Republican Speaker strongly dismissed this idea, compelling Luna to adopt a more confrontational strategy by collaborating with Democrats instead.
On Thursday, Trump stated his support for proxy voting for new parents, openly differing from Speaker Johnson on this matter; however, the President acknowledged that it remains the speaker’s choice.
"I'm going to allow the speaker to decide this matter, but I support the notion that if someone is expecting a child, they ought to have the ability to cast their vote over the phone. Personally, I endorse such an approach. While I acknowledge that others may disagree, and this isn't my primary concern, I did discuss this topic with Rep. Anna Paulina Luna just yesterday. Both she and several others hold strong views on this subject, which aligns with mine," stated the president.
During the pandemic, Johnson utilized absentee balloting when it was permitted under Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s tenure. However, he has subsequently contended—also in legal proceedings—that this should be unrestricted.
To stay updated with the latest news and newsletters, sign up for an account here.