House Republicans settle fight over remote votes for new parents after Johnson-Luna standoff

Washington — The fight in the House over whether to allow new parents in Congress to vote remotely around the birth of their child appears to be settled for now. 

The House voted Tuesday to effectively kill a discharge petition championed by Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida that forced a vote on a measure that would have permitted remote voting for new parents. Instead, a separate resolution from Luna to allow "vote pairing" was adopted. Both actions were included in a rule governing debate for four unrelated bills. The House approved the rule mostly along party lines, with Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona being the sole Republican to vote with Democrats. 

The move comes a week after nine Republicans joined all Democrats to sink a similar rule that would have defeated Luna's discharge petition. It was an embarrassing loss for House Speaker Mike Johnson, who sent lawmakers home for the remainder of the week. The Louisiana Republican has adamantly opposed proxy voting, believing it to be unconstitutional.