Speaker Mike Johnson's recent agreement with Republican holdouts has effectively stifled a bipartisan attempt to legislate remote voting for lawmakers following childbirth. Instead, a complex 'vote pairing' arrangement will allow select women experiencing complications post-birth to express their legislative positions without casting votes. This concession responds to internal Republican divisions over proxy voting, which many in the party view as unconstitutional. The decision reflects a shift in strategy after Mr. Trump's initial support shifted towards opposing expanded vote accessibility for parental needs.
Speaker Mike Johnson has reached an agreement with Republican holdouts that will effectively kill a bipartisan effort to change House rules so that lawmakers could temporarily vote remotely immediately after the birth of a child. Instead, Mr. Johnson has committed to allowing a convoluted arrangement to give a narrow group of lawmakers—women who face medical complications after childbirth—that will allow them to register their position on some legislation in their absence without actually being able to vote.
The maneuver, known as vote pairing, would not require a rule change and is a far cry from allowing new parents in Congress to fully participate in legislating, but it will enable Mr. Johnson to dispense with an issue that had exposed a deep cultural rift among House Republicans.
Republicans have long asserted that proxy voting, when lawmakers who are not at the Capitol can designate a colleague to cast a vote on their behalf, is unconstitutional and destroys the fabric of the institution of Congress, which requires lawmakers to convene in person.
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