Home Speaker Mike Johnson and different Republican leaders are attempting to kill a push by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida to provide new moms in Congress the flexibility to vote by proxy as they get well from childbirth and bond with their newborns.
Luna has the votes to move the bipartisan laws, which the Republican is co-sponsoring alongside Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA) and Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-CO)—a brand new mom who has needed to journey to Washington, D.C., a number of instances along with her toddler little one to keep away from lacking important votes
However Politico reported that Johnson and different GOP leaders are looking for a strategy to cease it from passing by bullying Republican members and even presumably altering the foundations to dam Luna’s laws from making it to the ground for a vote.
From Politico’s report:
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) has already gathered sufficient member signatures on a discharge petition to drive a vote. However Speaker Mike Johnson, who argues that proxy voting is unconstitutional, is contemplating a number of choices to stop it from occurring as Luna mulls the best way ahead.
They embrace attempting to kill the discharge petition within the Guidelines Committee subsequent week, in keeping with three folks with direct data of the matter who, like others quoted on this story, had been granted anonymity to debate personal talks. Some hard-liners are additionally floating a extra drastic possibility: altering the Home guidelines to successfully block future discharge petitions this Congress by making the method to set off a fast-track flooring vote rather more burdensome, the three folks mentioned.
The discharge petition that might drive a vote on the invoice has 218 signatures from members of each events, signaling its broad help. However Johnson claims he does not help the laws as a result of he believes proxy voting is unconstitutional, and permitting new moms the chance to vote by proxy after giving start is a “slippery slope” to permitting extra teams the flexibility to proxy vote, like members who should take care of sick spouses or kids—as if that’s such an terrible factor.
“Look, I am a father, I’m pro family, the Republican Party is pro family, we want to make it as easy as possible for young parents to be able to participate in the process,” Johnson mentioned at a information convention on Tuesday. “But proxy voting in my view is unconstitutional. In fact I feel so strongly about it that I helped present a brief to the United States Supreme Court just about two years ago… when Nancy Pelosi invented proxy voting using COVID as the excuse for that. It took us down a trail that I thought violated the very document that organized us. I don’t think it’s constitutional. I think the founders intended that you have a presence of the members in person.”
However Luna—who has been combating to permit new moms in Congress to vote by proxy since early 2024—doesn’t purchase that excuse.
“I am not going to destroy democracy by allowing female members to vote when recovering from birth,” Luna informed Politico of her efforts, which she says will make Congress extra equitable as a result of younger ladies lawmakers won’t have to decide on between having a child and representing their constituents.
And Luna known as Johnson’s bluff, saying that Johnson proxy voted when Democrats instituted the system to permit lawmakers to vote safely through the COVID-19 pandemic—one thing he wouldn’t have executed had he actually believed it was unconstitutional.
“.@SpeakerJohnson is a kind man and his heart is in the right spot but he’s wrong on proxy voting for new parents. Here are some documents showing him voting by proxy in the 117th Congress, as late as December 2022! He argues it’s ‘unconstitutional’ but has done it several times,” Luna wrote in a put up on X. “Since the case is being made to the public via press, I’m going to do the same.”
Extra probably than not, Johnson’s opposition to proxy voting for brand new moms is because of his social gathering’s extraordinarily slender Home majority. Absences from Democratic lawmakers like Pettersen might assist him move partisan laws with extra respiration room.
However the optics of this are horrible for the GOP—and even Republicans are admitting it.
“Voting against pregnant women, are y’all crazy?” uber-conservative Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee informed Politico of Johnson and firm’s makes an attempt to dam the invoice.
Johnson already blocked Luna’s effort to permit new moms to vote by proxy as soon as earlier than, in November 2024.
However this time round, Luna is utilizing a discharge petition—which might let her invoice come to the ground for a vote in a means that Johnson couldn’t block.
And Luna is threatening to stymie Johnson’s efforts to passing laws within the Home if he pulls any hijinks to thwart her once more.
“If people want to do that, then, you know, you have a two-seat majority, so good luck passing anything,” Luna informed The Hill newspaper, including, “If they want to play hardball, let’s play f‑‑‑ing hardball.”
Johnson’s push to cease Luna’s invoice from passing comes as Republican Rep. Kat Cammack of Florida introduced on Wednesday that she is pregnant and is because of give start this summer time.
She made a macabre joke about how her due date falls throughout a recess, when Congress is out and never voting, so Johnson does not have to fret.
“Mr Speaker, don’t worry. Margins are fine. I’m due in August,” Cammack mentioned.
Wow. That’s grim.
