Moms in Congress reach deal on remote voting

• Moms in Congress who wanted the ability to vote remotely while caring for a newborn may have reached a deal to make that happen. It appears they may keep a controversial proxy voting rule for new mothers with serious medical conditions.
• President Trump endorsed the measure, which had been causing a battle between Republican leadership and rank-and-file members.
• Those opposed to remote voting for parents say it’s unconstitutional and that members must be at the Capitol building in person.

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Moms in Congress may finally have a deal to allow lawmakers who are caring for a newborn to vote remotely. The deal came together after Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., called President Trump asking for his endorsement of the measure, and she got it. 

“I’m gonna let the speaker make the decision, but I like the idea of being able to if you’re having a baby, I think you should be able to call in and vote,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One. 

Luna announced she spoke with Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and they discussed limiting proxy voting to new moms who cannot physically travel in the event of an emergency.

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What will the proxy voting resolution allow new moms to do?

The original resolution applied to new members who have given birth or whose spouses have given birth. It also applied to pregnant members who are unable to travel safely due to a serious medical condition. 

Under those conditions, members would be allowed to designate another lawmaker to cast their vote on bills and resolutions on their behalf. 

This bipartisan resolution was quite controversial, even leading Speaker Johnson to end legislative business and send the House home for the week on Tuesday, April 1.

Why is proxy voting controversial?

Johnson believes allowing members of Congress to vote remotely is unconstitutional. 

“This is a deliberative body. You cannot deliberate with your colleagues if you’re out somewhere else,” Johnson said. “Here’s the problem, if you create a proxy vote opportunity just for young parents, mothers and the fathers of those situations, then where is the limiting principle?” 

Because he opposed it, Johnson would not bring the resolution up for a vote. That led Luna and her bipartisan co-sponsors to start a petition that allows rank-and-file members to overrule the speaker. They got 218 signatures from every political leaning, which is more than enough to force a vote.

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Johnson tried to squash the petition and failed, which gave Luna the upper hand in the dispute. Once Trump took her side, it forced Johnson to settle. It appears they will now bring forward the new version of the resolution that applies only to new mothers sometime next week.