**”Speaker Johnson and Rep. Luna Reach Agreement on Parental Proxy Voting”**
House Speaker Mike Johnson and Florida GOP Representative Anna Paulina Luna have come to an agreement to resolve the conflict over proxy voting for new parents, signaling the reopening of the House floor after a week of legislative gridlock. As part of the deal, House Republican leaders will formalize a procedure known as “vote pairing,” which enables absent members to coordinate with present members on opposing sides of a vote to offset their absence, according to sources familiar with the matter. While the logistics and enforcement mechanisms of this agreement are still unclear, vote pairing, though uncommon in Congress, allows for absences to be addressed without recording the absent member’s vote in the tally. This approach, reminiscent of a practice dating back to the 1800s, was recently employed by Senator Lisa Murkowski to balance out her vote against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. In a statement, Rep. Luna expressed gratitude to both Speaker Johnson and President Trump for their support of new mothers and emphasized the need for a more family-friendly Congress. Despite the existence of a bipartisan discharge petition with 218 signatures advocating for remote voting rights for new parents, Rep. Luna has agreed not to move forward with it in light of the new arrangement. Speaker Johnson, meanwhile, is exploring additional measures to enhance accessibility for new mothers in Congress, such as creating a dedicated nursing room off the House floor. The agreement between Speaker Johnson and Rep. Luna reflects a proactive effort to address the needs of new parents in the legislative process.
