Nine House Republicans voted with Democrats Tuesday to reject Speaker Mike Johnson’s bid to block a GOP member from allowing lawmakers who are new parents to cast their votes by proxy vote.
House Republican leaders inserted language into a procedural measure that would effectively kill Rep. Anna Paulina Luna’s proxy-voting proposal, which is due to come to the floor later this week. Luna had circumvented party leaders by successfully pursuing a discharge petition.
That measure failed on a 222-206 vote, with eight Republicans joining Luna to block it.
Approving the “rule,” as the measure is known, would have tabled the discharge petition and blocked future similar proposals, leading Luna and other Republicans to line up against it. Luna and 11 other House Republicans had signed onto the discharge petition to force consideration of the proxy-voting measure.
The proposal has roiled House Republicans, with Luna opting to leave the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus over the dispute.
GOP leadership, with the support of conservative hard-liners, has opposed the proxy-voting proposal, calling it unconstitutional.
But the failure of Tuesday afternoon’s vote spells trouble for the rest of the House GOP’s plans this week. In addition to blocking Luna’s bill, the rule would have teed up the rest of the legislative agenda, including a closely watched measure to rein in federal judges who have opposed President Donald Trump.
