Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) said Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) called her to discuss the possibility of allowing proxy voting only for new moms after President Trump appeared to back the Florida Republican in her efforts.
Luna, who had led the fight against GOP leaders in the House to push for proxy voting for new parents, was embraced by Trump earlier Thursday when he was asked about her effort and the recently failed procedural vote.
Trump told reporters abord Air Force One that he spoke to Luna about her effort and didn’t understand why it was controversial.
“I’m gonna let the speaker make the decision, but I like the idea. Having a baby? I think you should be able to call in and vote. I’m in favor of that,” Trump said.
Luna celebrated the news in posts on X, thanking Trump for supporting the “pro-family resolution.”
“Despite misinformation, this is *not* a return to universal proxy voting,” she said, noting that it would help the GOP maintain its majority in the House.
Luna said she heard from Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) after Trump’s statement of support and they discussed “limiting the vote to just new moms who cannot travel because of health concerns.”
The original push included new fathers, in addition to new mothers in the House. The inclusion of fathers confused Republican members, who said they weren’t aware they were signing on to anything more than new mothers being able to vote via a proxy.
“This is smart,” Luna said of the revised proposed plan. “Only 13 members of Congress have given birth while serving in US history.”
Luna also said she told Johnson that the vote on the resolution “should NOT, in any way” interfere with legislation that would help Trump’s agenda.
Earlier Thursday Luna was still pushing for fathers to be included.
“I’m confident that with President Trump’s support, my proxy voting resolution will pass and new moms and dads in Congress will be able to vote for the America First agenda we promised,” she wrote on X before speaking with Johnson.
The Florida Republican-led nine other Republican lawmakers against Johnson earlier this week, delivering a blow to the Speaker when they tanked a procedural rule that would have blocked Luna from forcing action on the measure.
The fight halted work in the House until early next week and put a spotlight on the bill for new parents who are in Congress.
The Hill has reached out to Johnson for comment.
