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A2 u.s. news
Monday 7 april 2025
Tentative deal is reached

in Republican fight over

proxy voting for new

parents

new parents, potentially opens the door to Trump's
ending a standoff that halt- push for trillions of dollars in
ed legislative work for days tax breaks. The Senate ap-
and threatened to delay a proved that budget frame-
vote this week to advance work early Saturday morn-
President Donald Trump's ing after grinding through a
agenda. late-night session.
House Speaker Mike John- Trump had said he was in
son and Florida Rep. Anna favor of allowing proxy vot-
Paulina Luna, who has ing for new parents after
been leading the biparti- speaking with Luna, though
san push on proxy voting, he said he would defer to
reached the deal, Luna Johnson how the House
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., speaks during a hearing of the House Task Force on the said in a social media post should operate. "I don't
Declassification of Federal Secrets on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Washington.
Associated Press on Sunday. know why it's controversial,"
Rather than allow proxy Trump said.
voting, Luna said the Luna, who gave birth during
By LISA MASCARO WASHINGTON (AP) — A Republican leading a bi- agreement would formal- her first term in Congress,
AP Congressional Corre- tentative deal has been partisan push to allow proxy ize a "pairing" system long had championed the proxy
spondent reached with the Florida voting in the U.S. House for used in Congress where voting resolution alongside

one member who is physi- Democratic Rep. Brittany
cally present in the House Pettersen of Colorado, who
cancels out the vote of has a 4-month-old son. The
someone who is absent. effort drew significant bi-
Luna said the voting op- partisan support, with 218
tion would be open to all lawmakers — the majority
Republicans who are un- of the House, many young
able to vote, including new parents themselves — sign-
parents, the bereaved and ing onto a petition that
lawmakers facing various could trigger a floor vote.
medical and family emer- The resolution would allow
gencies. proxy voting for lawmak-
"If we truly want a pro-fam- ers who have given birth or
ily Congress, these are the pregnant lawmakers who
changes that need to hap- are unable to travel safely
pen," Luna said. or have a serious medical
No further details were im- condition. It would also ap-
mediately available. It was ply to lawmakers whose
also unclear if the deal spouses are pregnant or
would be agreed to by the giving birth.
other lawmakers who had Pettersen, who has carried
signed on to the proxy vot- her son onto the floor dur-
ing proposal. ing recent House votes,
The agreement with Luna said the institution needs
could end days of back- to change with the times.
and-forth over allowing About a dozen women
new parents in Congress to have given birth while in
vote by proxy for 12 weeks Congress over the years,
as they care for their new- and there are many new
borns. Johnson has vigor- fathers as well.
ously opposed the effort, "It is unfathomable that in
calling it an affront to the 2025 we have not modern-
Constitution that would ized Congress," she said.
open "Pandora's box." But Johnson, like GOP lead-
But some Republicans re- ers before him, loathes
fused to go along with proxy voting, which had
Johnson's bid to kill the been put in place for about
resolution, with nine of two years during the CO-
them defying him in a vote VID-19 lockdowns when
last week. By reaching a Democrats had control of
deal, Republican leaders the House.
will likely be able to move "It was quickly abused. Re-
ahead this week on key publicans put an end to it
legislative priorities — most then, and we cannot allow
critically a revised version of it again," Johnson said in a
the budget framework that social media post.q