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House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) told House Republicans on Sunday that he has reached a deal with Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Florida) on a bipartisan bill that would have allowed new parents in Congress to vote remotely.
The speaker had been adamantly opposed to casting votes by proxy, saying that doing so is an affront to the Constitution and invoked similar efforts instituted by House Democrats during the covid-19 pandemic. During a call with the House Republican Conference on Sunday, Johnson said Luna and supporters of the bill would back down from the proxy vote push, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a private call.
Luna would pull her resolution, which she introduced Tuesday, from consideration. Had an agreement not been struck, the House would have had to vote on the measure early this week.
Instead, Johnson will work to formalize vote "pairing" - a House rule that would match up an absent member’s vote with the vote of another member who votes the opposite way.
It is not clear if that deal would be welcomed by Democrats, the minority party. Initially, Democrats reacted skeptically and said they are trying to understand the agreement Johnson proposed before commenting.
Luna confirmed the agreement to formalize "live/dead pairing," writing in a post on X that it would be available for all House Republicans to use "when unable to physically be present to vote: new parents, bereaved, emergencies." She added that she was "glad to see this resolved."
Johnson also told Republicans on the call that he is going to make the Capitol more accessible to young mothers by establishing nursing rooms near the House floor, according to the two people familiar with the plans.
Last week, eight Republicans backed the bill Luna co-sponsored with Democrat Rep. Brittany Pettersen of Colorado. It was a stunning rebellion that voted down a procedural hurdle, known as a rule, that included language endorsed by leadership that would have prevented her bipartisan resolution from ever being considered this Congress. Bucking House Republican leadership’s attempts to block the bill, the vote derailed the House from considering other legislative measures the rest of the week.
Conversations were ongoing last week to ensure the House could operate again and move ahead on its legislative schedule this week, which is set to include a vote to fix funding for the District of Columbia and codifying the use of identification to vote in federal elections.
Luna had indicated that she was in touch with President Donald Trump about the proxy voting bill, telling NewsNation on Wednesday, "I will say that I have talked to the president and I will also tell you that the president assured that this would get resolved." On Thursday, Trump expressed support for Luna’s position.
Trump told reporters on Air Force One that he would defer to Johnson on how the House operates, but remarked, "I don't see why it's that controversial."
"If you’re having a baby, I think you should be able to call in and vote," he said. "I’m in favor of that."
Trump, according to Johnson, also told the speaker that he had his "proxy on proxy voting" - meaning that the president would respect whatever decision Johnson made over the House.
Now that one intraparty battle is resolved, House Republicans will have to overcome another one. This week’s to-do list includes efforts to adopt the Senate’s amended budget resolution, which the upper chamber passed on Saturday. The resolution is a key component toward achieving Trump’s top legislative priority: a massive bill extending expiring tax cuts and overhauling border security laws.
Shortly after the Senate vote, Republican leadership urged lawmakers in a letter Saturday to adopt the framework so both chambers can move on to drafting the tax bill itself.
"With the debt limit X-date approaching, border security resources diminishing, markets unsettled, and the largest tax increase on working families looming, time is of the essence," Johnson warned in a letter with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana), House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minnesota), and Rep. Lisa C. McClain (R-Michigan), the No. 4 House Republican. "As President Trump said, ‘Every Republican, House and Senate, must UNIFY.’"
But their rally cry seems to have fallen flat. Members of the staunchly conservative House Freedom Caucus, as well as other conservatives, expressed concerns during the call over how the Senate tweaked the House’s budget resolution, according to the people familiar.
Several Republicans said outright that they would vote against it, testing leadership and Trump, who will work on pushing lawmakers to vote yes this week. Democrats are not expected to provide help in backing the budget resolution.
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