Speaker Mike Johnson and GOP Florida representative Anna Paulina Luna said they had cut an agreement to end the battle over proxy voting for new parents, who would reopen the floor of the house after almost a week of legislative paralysis.
The Republican house leaders will formalize the “voting couple,” a procedure that allows members who are absent during the voting to coordinate with current members on the other hand to compensate for absence, various sources that are familiar with the agreement told ABC News.
For example, the procedure in this case will allow a new mother, who is absent for the DPR’s vote, to work with a member of parliament currently gives a opposite vote from their attitude to form “couples.”
Some logistics from this agreement are still unclear including how this will be upheld.
Vote couple – which is a rare practice at the congress – of course not equivalent to the voting far but allowed the absence of balanced. But the vote that was not present was not recorded in the recorded vote count.
The voting process was used in 2018 when the senate chose to confirm Chief Justice Brett Kavanugh. At that time, Senator Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who said she would vote against Kavanugh, pairing her voice with Senator Steve Daines from Montana so that their voices would be canceled.
US speaker from Rep. Mike Johnson’s house (R-LA) (L) participated in the swear ceremony with Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) (R), her husband Andrew Gamberzky and her son in the US capitol on January 3, 2025 in Washington, DC. The 119th Congress began his term of office at Capitol Hill today. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Alex Wong/Getty Image
Johnson put the agreement specifically regarding the call conference of GOP members Sunday afternoon, said the source.
Given the agreement, Sumber said Rep. Luna will not trigger her bipartisan disposal petition – which has 218 signatures – to allow mothers and fathers to choose long distances up to 12 weeks after giving birth.
“Speaker Johnson and I have reached an agreement and inaugurated a procedure called ‘Life/Death’ – Returning to the 1800s – for all conferences to be used when it cannot be physically present to choose: new parents, grieving, emergencies,” Rep. Luna was posted in a statement about X.
Luna thanked President Donald Trump for her “support” for new mothers. “If we really want a pro-family congress, this is a change that needs to be happened,” he added.
It is possible for other members – including Democrats who signed the petition – to call and force action on Luna’s actions. But it is likely to fail if the Republican party holds on to the voting pair agreement.
Johnson is still looking for ways to increase accessibility for new mothers at the congress such as adding rooms from the floor of the house for breastfeeding mothers, the source said.