Leadership is still pushing against a resolution that would give new parents the ability to vote remotely. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna — the Freedom Caucus Republican who is the main author of the legislation — says she isn’t backing down.
“This is about changing the institution for the better,” Luna told NOTUS Thursday. “We had some great members of Congress that we lost because of the fact that they were like, ‘this was just too hard with her family.’ You have another member who just announced that she’s pregnant, which we’re so happy for her, but I hope she never has to deal with not being able to vote and represent her constituents because she’s out.”
House Republican leaders have pushed back on the idea of proxy voting since it was first implemented during the coronavirus pandemic by then-Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi. When Republicans took back control of the House at the start of 2023, they almost immediately ended proxy voting.