With the House of Representatives in stagnation, the speaker Mike Johnson refuses to bend on his strong opposition, allowing new parents in the congress to vote remotely.
“I do not admit something I think it is unconstitutional. I can’t. I swore to support the Constitution. So we’ll find a way through it. We’re working on it,” Johnson said on Wednesday. “I spoke to everyone who voted against the rule and we will make it. So we have time to do it and these conversations continue.”
Earlier this week, nine Republicans stood on Democrats to torment a procedural rule that included a language for the murder of Republican reporter Anna Paulina Luna, a two -party petition for discharge for proxy vote for new parents of the legislator.
The vote threw the house into disarray and paralyzed the chamber, leaving Johnson to find a way to disturb the impasse. The vote also asked Johnson’s ability to control the majority for the Republican razor.
Republican leaders, including Johnson, had said they would take the unprecedented step to block the moon’s petition for voting proxies, which gives mothers and fathers to vote for up to 12 weeks after the birth of a child.
Home speaker Mike Johnson attended an event for the month of women’s history in the Eastern White House, March 26, 2025 in Washington.
Earn McNamee/Getty Images
After the vote, Johnson said, as we could not have further actions on the floor this week. “
“The reason I said that the agenda was brought out for the week because it was, everything was in one rule. We could have fulfilled the rescue law, but the rest would have to be done in a different rule. And I had a large group of republicans from the home who did not want to support the rule until we take care of the voting,” he said.
Johnson said he “works actively” to accommodate young mothers who serve in the congress.
“As I understand the pure motivations of the few defenders of the votes of the Republican proxy, I just cannot support the change they are looking for,” Johnson wrote in a post on Wednesday. “The procedural vote yesterday was our efforts to encourage the important legislative agenda of President Trump, while disabling a petition to discharge, which would force the vote of proxy and open a dangerous box of Pandora for the institution.”
“To allow proxy vote for one category of members to open the door for many others and ultimately lead to a distant vote, which would harm the work of our conscious organ and reduce the critical role of the legislative branch,” he added.
Johnson said he wanted a mothers room to breastfeed immediately off the floor of the house, although there is currently one in the Capitol basement. He said leaders also look to allow the use of state money for members to fly their babies for babies in DC with their mothers and fathers.
“We want to accommodate mothers who want to serve in the congress, and we are the party of the family, so we will do it, but we cannot do something that violates the constitution or destroy the institution you serve,” he said.
