Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida fought the Republican House leader, and Luna won.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) opposed a resolution proposed by Luna to allow pregnant House members to vote by proxy, but eight other Republicans joined her crusade Tuesday to end his effort to kill the bill.
‘This tactic was not just a betrayal of trust; it was a descent into the very behavior we have long condemned.’
There were 222 members who voted against Johnson’s maneuver, while only 206 members voted in support.
Luna also said on Monday that she was leaving the Freedom Caucus of the House because of the strong-arm tactics used to oppose her resolution.
“This was a modest, family-centered proposal. Yet, a small group among us threatened the Speaker, vowing to halt floor proceedings indefinitely-regardless of the legislation at stake, including President Trump’s agenda-unless he altered the rules to block my discharge petition,” she wrote.
She pointed out that the rules change would have applied only to fewer than 14 mothers in congressional history, but some Republicans forced Johnson to tie the SAVE Act to a motion to defeat her proposal.
“The intent was clear: to misrepresent me and the members supporting this pro-life, pro-family initiative — one of the most significant in congressional history — as obstructing the President and opposing election integrity,” she continued. “This tactic was not just a betrayal of trust; it was a descent into the very behavior we have long condemned — a practice that we, as a group, have repeatedly criticized leadership for allowing.”
Johnson fired back at the Republicans who voted with Democrats by blaming them for not allowing other votes to further the Republican agenda.
“That rule being brought down means that we can’t have any further action on the floor this week,” said Johnson to reporters.
“That means we will not be voting on the SAVE Act for election integrity. We will not be voting on the rogue judges who are attacking President Trump’s agenda. We will not be taking down these terrible Biden policies with the CRA votes. All that was just wiped off the table,” he added.
“It’s very unfortunate,” Johnson concluded.
Luna hit her colleagues in a jab on social media.
“Those most vocal about no proxy voting all voted by proxy. Very odd position to take,” she posted.
It is unclear whether Luna meant that those members had previously voted by proxy.
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