House Speaker Mike Johnson has put an end to a weeklong internal Republican standoff by reaching a compromise that avoids changing House rules on voting for members on maternity leave. The issue, which divided congressional Republicans and sparked calls for reform, led Johnson to cancel all scheduled floor votes last week. But as the new week began, a “watered-down solution” emerged—backed by none other than President Donald Trump.
According to The New York Times, Johnson successfully persuaded Trump to support his position after the former president publicly broke with him over the issue. The result is a procedural workaround that avoids official rule changes but offers limited relief to a small group of lawmakers.
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“Mr. Johnson has committed to allowing a convoluted arrangement to give a narrow group of lawmakers — women who face medical complications after childbirth that prevent them from being present in Washington — a way of registering their position on some legislation in their absence without actually being able to vote,” the Times reported.
The method, known as “vote pairing,” allows an absent member to pair their vote with a colleague who agrees to withhold their own vote, effectively canceling each other out. It has long been used in the Senate but is far less robust than the proxy voting system that was temporarily adopted by the House during the COVID-19 pandemic.
While Johnson’s move may restore unity among Republicans and preserve the House’s legislative calendar, critics argue the compromise falls short of what working parents in Congress truly need. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), who led efforts to formalize proxy voting for new parents, praised the development despite the scaled-back result.
“This is becoming the most modern, pro-family Congress we’ve ever seen,” Luna posted on social media Monday. But not everyone was convinced. Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA), a co-sponsor of the bipartisan push for parental proxy voting, criticized the deal as insufficient.
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“Our shared goal has been to support new parents so they can do their jobs and vote on behalf of their constituents while also taking care of themselves and their families,” Jacobs told the Times. “This ‘deal’ falls short of that goal — silencing new parents and perpetuating the status quo and the notion that Congress is ineffective and obsolete.”
Although Johnson avoided a full-blown party revolt, the debate has reignited discussions over how Congress can modernize its rules to reflect the realities of 21st-century lawmakers balancing public service with family life.
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