Anna Paulina Luna forces House leadership's hand on proxy voting as GOP war escalates

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., is forcing a vote on legislation to enable new parents serving in Congress to vote remotely in the weeks surrounding the birth of their child.

Luna introduced the measure as a "privileged resolution" on Tuesday, which gives House leaders two legislative days to take up the measure.

It’s the latest in an increasingly high-stakes fight between Luna and House GOP leaders, who have teamed up with some of Luna’s now-former House Freedom Caucus colleagues to ensure she cannot force a vote on the legislation.

Luna’s initial plan to fast-track her bill despite opposition from House GOP leaders involved a discharge petition, a mechanism for getting a bill onto the House floor if it gets a majority of lawmakers’ signatures – which Luna’s resolution did.

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But Republican leaders had language inserted into an unrelated package of bills in the House Rules Committee on Tuesday morning that would have neutered Luna’s effort in a move that rankled GOP supporters of proxy voting.

Even some Republicans on the House Rules Committee, which did ultimately advance the measure, were frustrated by what they saw as a last-minute play by leadership that was done without briefing those GOP lawmakers, Fox News Digital was told.

House GOP leaders will likely opt for a procedural vote to "table" the resolution or to refer it to the relevant committee for consideration via the traditional route – both moves that would all but kill the bill. If that fails, however, the legislation could very well pass with support from all Democrats and just a few House Republicans, given the GOP’s slim majority.

Luna accused conservatives of holding Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., "hostage" on the matter in a letter to fellow House Republicans on Monday night. She also announced she was leaving the House Freedom Caucus, citing a small group of conservatives who have pressed leaders to kill her measure.

Luna’s bill, which is co-led by Rep. Brittney Pettersen, D-Colo., would give new moms and dads serving in Congress the ability to vote by proxy for up to 12 weeks surrounding the birth of their child.

In her letter she shared praise for House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., whose conduct she called "gentlemanly," but added, "With a heavy heart, I am resigning from the Freedom Caucus."

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"I cannot remain part of a caucus where a select few operate outside its guidelines, misuse its name, broker backroom deals that undermine its core values and where the lines of compromise and transaction are blurred, disparage me to the press, and encourage misrepresentation of me to the American people," Luna wrote.

Johnson said he believed proxy voting was "unconstitutional" in remarks after House Republicans' regular closed-door meeting last week, and spoke out on the issue again this week.

"We addressed this in conference this morning. A couple of our, a handful of our colleagues, have gotten behind the effort, and, look, I'm a father. I'm pro-family," the speaker said last week. "Here's the problem. If you create a proxy vote opportunity just for young parents, mothers and, the fathers in those situations, then where is the limiting principle?"