The House of Representatives canceled votes for the rest of the week and sent lawmakers home after a group of Republicans rebelled against House Speaker Mike Johnson.

Nine Republicans joined all Democrats to oppose a procedural rule that would squash an effort to allow proxy voting for lawmakers who become new parents.

“The vote also blocked planned votes on GOP priorities to limit the power of federal judges and to require proof of citizenship to vote,” The Hill noted.

The Hill reports:

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) successfully used an arcane and rarely successful discharge petition procedure to force a vote on Rep. Brittany Pettersen’s (D-Colo.) resolution to allow members who give birth or lawmakers whose spouses give birth to have another member vote for them for 12 weeks.

But amid opposition from Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) — who has argued that proxy voting is unconstitutional — the leadership-controlled House Rules Committee inserted language into a procedural rule to kill Luna’s effort.

ADVERTISEMENT

That hardball tactic, however, failed Tuesday when nine Republicans voted with Democrats to torpedo the procedural vote, bringing key legislative action on the floor to a halt. Without adopting a rule, the House is unable to debate and vote on big-ticket legislative items.

“It’s a very disappointing result on the floor there, a handful of Republicans joined with all Democrats to take down a rule,” Johnson said after the vote. “That’s rarely done.”

WATCH:

“Republicans have had the majority, as well as the ability to bring legislation to the floor on election integrity and rogue judges, for months. Yet, at the last minute, leadership chose to tie my discharge petition to a rules package that would permanently paint me and the members supporting it as being anti-election integrity,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) said.

“Leadership should stop playing political games with President Trump’s agenda. They can bring any of the legislation to the floor. Why would they send Congress home? They’re not serious about anything they are messaging on. I’m not in the business of lying about what is happening in DC,” she added.

WATCH:

“I am 100% supportive of @realDonaldTrump and his America First agenda. It is disingenuous for
@SpeakerJohnson to lie about me, which is why he has been given a community note. Thank you @x for clarifying. @SteveScalise & @SpeakerJohnson did not have to send us home,” she commented.

“A fight over allowing Congressmen to vote by proxy caused the Speaker to cancel all votes in Congress this week. 1. Proxy voting is unconstitutional. 2. It’s foolish to delay our agenda for an entire week while we control Congress and the presidency!” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) commented.

“This is embarrassing. Somehow Democrats with Pelosi in charge and Biden in office kept the caucus together and pushed through key agenda items. House cancels rest of votes for week after GOP floor rebellion,” Laura Ingraham said.

From the Associated Press:

Nine of his own Republicans joined all Democrats in rejecting his plan, 206-222, in a dramatic vote.

It was a high-profile setback for the speaker, who rarely exercises the power of his gavel in such a determined way as he did trying to prevent the bipartisan plan from two new mothers — Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida and Democratic Rep. Brittany Pettersen of Colorado.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Very disappointed,” Johnson said after the vote. He canceled the rest of the week’s session, sending lawmakers home. “We’ll regroup.”

The outcome registered a sizable win for the moms — and dads and others who supported them — who showed no signs of dropping their campaign as they force the House to consider their proxy-voting plan, which has support from a majority of House colleagues. Some 218 lawmakers backed their effort, signing on to a so-called discharge petition to force their proposal on the House floor for consideration.

“If we don’t do the right thing now, it’ll never be done,” said Luna, who gave birth to her son in 2023.

Pettersen, with a burp cloth over her shoulder and 4-month-old son Sam in her arms, stood on the House floor and pleaded with colleagues to turn back the GOP leadership’s effort to stop their resolution.

 

Join The Conversation. Leave a Comment.