( The Hill — President Trump stated on Thursday that he backs the initiative to permit proxy voting for newly minted parents in Congress, as tensions escalate between House Republican leaders and Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) regarding this matter.
"I'm not sure why it's causing controversy," Trump stated.
"I'm going to allow the Speaker to make the final decision, but I support the notion that if someone is expecting a baby, they should have the option to call in their vote. I agree with this," Trump stated additionally.
While traveling to Miami aboard Air Force One, he informed journalists that he had spoken with Luna on Wednesday.
"I talked to Anna yesterday. She and several others have strong feelings about this, and I concur with their view," he stated.
On Wednesday evening, Luna informed NewsNation that she had discussed the issue with Trump.
"The president guaranteed that this will be resolved," Luna stated.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) remains frantically trying to resolve a deadlock amidst the drive for proxy voting, following Luna’s alignment with over 200 Democrats and nine Republicans to employ a process called a discharge petition to bypass leadership and compel a vote on the issue.
To compel a vote on Rep. Brittany Pettersen’s (D-Colo.) resolution, Luna initiated the discharge petition. This proposal aims to permit members who give birth or those whose spouses give birth to delegate their voting rights to another member for a period of 12 weeks.
Johnson and Republican Party (GOP) officials, who claim that allowing proxy voting is against the constitution and expanding it to cover new parents might set a dangerous precedent, tried to block that action—and any potential future attempts to reintroduce similar ideas—through a procedural vote earlier this week.
Consequently, the House floor has come to a halt. This maneuver also prevented progress on Trump-backed initiatives aimed at restricting the authority of federal judges and mandating evidence of citizenship before voting. As a result, leaders decided to cancel all remaining votes for the week.
The White House has remained silent regarding the president's support for either Luna or Johnson on this matter since Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt informed reporters on Tuesday that she was unaware of Trump's position on proxy voting.
Johnson maintains that permitting proxies for voting is unconstitutional. He stated to journalists, "I swore to uphold the Constitution."
He mentioned on Wednesday that he was exploring additional methods to back new mothers at the Capitol.
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