Mike Johnson loses his war against new moms--and he's pissed [View all]
House Speaker Mike Johnson suffered an embarrassing blow on Tuesday after nine of his Republican colleagues defied him, rejecting his push to ban proxy voting for parents.
The stunning GOP rebellion threw the House’s legislative agenda for the rest of the week into chaos, forcing Johnson to abruptly send lawmakers home in frustration.
The vote in question centered on whether new parents in Congress should be allowed to designate someone to vote for them for the first 12 weeks after their child’s birth. The bipartisan proposal—led by MAGA Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida and Democratic Reps. Brittany Pettersen of Colorado and Sarah Jacobs of California—was a rare show of unity on an issue affecting working parents. Both Luna and Pettersen are new mothers, and with no formal parental leave policy for members of Congress, they argued the change was long overdue.
“Today is a pretty historical day for the entire conference,” Luna said. “It’s showing that the body has decided that parents deserve a voice in Washington, and also to the importance of female members having a vote in Washington, D.C.”
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/4/2/2314077/-House-speaker-pouts-like-a-baby-after-losing-war-against-new-moms
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