GOP struggles over vote to allow lawmakers who are new parents to vote remotely – CBS News

Watch CBS News
March 25, 2025 / 8:11 PM EDT
/ CBS News
Washington — Speaker Mike Johnson confirmed Tuesday there have been discussions about how to stop a measure that would allow House members who are new parents to vote by proxy. Although Johnson isn’t in favor of the idea — he thinks it’s unconstitutional — he also said he opposes a proposal from far-right members to keep the resolution from getting a vote.A bipartisan group of House lawmakers secured enough support from their colleagues earlier this month to force a vote on the bill, which would allow new parents to designate a colleague to vote for them for 12 weeks after they or their spouse gives birth. The bill would also allow that period to begin earlier if the lawmaker has a serious medical condition or isn’t able to travel safely. As speaker, Johnson’s opposition would ordinarily keep the plan from ever receiving a floor vote. But members may force the House to consider a measure with what’s known as a discharge petition if they can muster a simple majority, and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Florida Republican, was able to reach that threshold on March 11 with her discharge petition, which has the support of 206 Democrats and 12 Republicans.Amid reports that the House Freedom Caucus had proposed raising the threshold for a discharge petition to require two-thirds support — which would have thwarted the bill — Johnson said he’s “not in favor of raising the discharge threshold to two-thirds,” and “most people recognize that that probably is not an option.””I think it’s unprecedented, and I’m tired of making history around here,” he told CBS News. “I don’t want to do anything that is, that would be outside the norm of the institution so much as that’s possible.” “We have received overwhelming support from a majority of the conference and have ensured that the legislation is in line with the Constitution. If Congress wants to have a governing body that is truly reflective of the American people, it should allow and encourage new parents to vote while in office,” Luna said in a statement Tuesday. The bill was introduced by Rep. Brittany Pettersen of Colorado, a Democrat, in January. Pettersen gave birth on Jan. 25 in her home state and rushed back to Washington in recent weeks with her newborn to vote on important legislation.”Historically, it’s been much more wealthy, older men who serve in Congress. This isn’t designed for young families and for young women, especially,” Pettersen told CBS News in February. Luna, a cosponsor of the bill, gave birth in 2023 and complications from the birth prevented her from attending votes, including the historic ouster of a House speaker. Democrats instituted proxy voting during the pandemic, but the practice was ended by Republicans when they took control of the House in 2023. 

Scott MacFarlane

contributed to this report.

Caitlin Yilek is a politics reporter at CBSNews.com, based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked for the Washington Examiner and The Hill, and was a member of the 2022 Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellowship with the National Press Foundation.
© 2025 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright ©2025 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.

Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mike-johnson-lawmakers-new-parents-proxy-voting/