As Speaker Mike Johnson is fighting tooth and nail to kill a Republican-led petition to allow new parents to vote by proxy, President Donald Trump endorsed the effort.
“I don’t know why it’s controversial,” Trump told reporters.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna has led an insurgent discharge petition — alongside Republican Rep. Mike Lawler and Democratic Reps. Brittany Pettersen and Sara Jacobs — to force a vote on allowing 12 weeks of remote voting for new parents in the House.
Though Johnson and his leadership team whipped against the effort, citing constitutional objections, the petition received more than the requisite 218 co-sponsors for a mandatory floor vote.
Trending
Still, last week, Johnson tried to kill the petition, inserting language into a rule vote for an unrelated bill on Tuesday. Johnson’s procedural gambit failed when eight Republicans joined Luna to buck leadership.
Johnson adjourned the House for the remainder of the week, arguing that Luna’s intransigence had blocked unrelated House business. Though, as NOTUS has reported, Johnson has plenty of procedural options at his disposal that could resume the House’s work that do not involve killing Luna’s petition.
Republican leadership is now considering their options — including reportedly pursuing a constitutional amendment — to quash Luna’s petition and avert a vote. Johnson’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A source familiar with the situation confirmed to NOTUS that Johnson talked to Trump Thursday and explained his concerns about Luna’s proxy voting proposal.
It’s unclear how long the game of chicken between Johnson and Luna might last, as both sides have accused the other of stalling important House business, including on the budget reconciliation process.
Luna told Newsnation that Trump spoke with her on Wednesday and he assured her “that this would get resolved.”
On Thursday, Trump told reporters he would “let the speaker make the decision, but I like the idea,” according to a pool report.
“I’m in favor of that,” Trump said when asked if he supports Luna’s petition. “I would agree with that.”
—
Riley Rogerson is a reporter at NOTUS. Reese Gorman, a reporter at NOTUS, contributed reporting.
Author
