A tentative agreement has been reached between the Florida Republican who is leading the bipartisan push for allowing proxy voting for new parents in the U.S. House. This could end a standoff that halted the legislative work for several days and threatened to defer a vote scheduled for this week that would advance the agenda of President Donald Trump.
House Speaker Mike Johnson and Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who led the bipartisan effort on proxy voting, reached a tentative agreement, according to someone familiar with the situation who requested anonymity in order to discuss it.
There were no further details immediately available. This included whether the deal was accepted by the other legislators who had agreed to the proposal for proxy voting.
A Luna agreement could put an end to days of back-and-forth over whether new parents can vote in Congress by proxy while caring for their newborns. Johnson has strongly opposed the initiative, calling it a constitutional affront that would open “Pandora’s box.”
Nine Republicans voted against Johnson last week, refusing to support his bid to stop the resolution.
A deal with Luna will allow Republican leaders to advance this week in key legislative priorities – most importantly, a revised budget framework that opens the door for Trump’s demand for trillions of tax breaks. After a long late-night session, the Senate passed that budget framework on Saturday morning.
After speaking with Luna about the issue, Trump said that he supported allowing new parents to vote by proxy. However, he deferred to Johnson on how the House should function. Trump said, “I don’t know why this is controversial.”
Luna, a congresswoman who had a baby during her first term, fought for the resolution on proxy voting alongside Colorado Democrat Rep. Brittany Pettersen, who also has a four-month-old child. This effort received significant bipartisan support. 218 legislators- including many young parents- signed a petition to trigger a vote on the floor.
If adopted, the resolution would allow lawmakers to vote by proxy if they have just given birth, are pregnant, or have serious medical conditions that prevent them from traveling safely. This would apply to lawmakers who are expecting or have given birth, as well as those whose spouses may be pregnant.
Pettersen said that the institution must change to keep up with the times. She has brought her son on the floor of the House during recent votes. Over the years, about a dozen women and many fathers have had children while serving in Congress.
She said, “It’s unfathomable to think that we won’t have modernized Congress by 2025.”
Johnson, as did other GOP leaders, is against proxy voting. It was implemented for two years, during COVID-19, when Democrats controlled the House, and it has been a source of controversy ever since.
“It was quickly misused. Republicans stopped it back then, and we can’t allow it to happen again,” Johnson wrote in a post on social media.