Luna slams Speaker Johnson as 'anti-family' for not supporting new moms in Congress voting by proxy

Florida GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna on Wednesday slammed House Speaker Mike Johnson on social media for not supporting her legislation that would allow new moms in Congress to vote by proxy.

The Republican lawmaker introduced a resolution with Democratic California Rep. Sara Jacobs in January that would allow congresswomen to vote by proxy for up to six weeks after giving birth. The proposal would require the House to amend its rules.

Luna said she has been making her case for the bill to the speaker for months now, and on Wednesday was told that he would not be supporting the bill or letting her bring the legislation to a floor vote.

"My proposal of allowing women in congress to vote after birth (in line with the constitution) was what I was asking to be allowed to come to the floor for a vote by the ENTIRE 119th Congress," she posted in a thread on X. "Today, after speaking with [Johnson] about this for months, I was told he will not support allowing female members to vote if they give birth. 

"Among other things, this is something that I fundamentally disagree with him on," she continued. "This is not only anti-family, but is also a slap in the face to the hundreds of thousands of voters who send members to represent them in DC."

Luna told The Hill that she has filed a discharge petition on the legislation to force a vote but it would need the support of 218 lawmakers, which she does not expect to get, even with the help of Democrats. Some Democrats have pushed back on the legislation because it does not include fathers and parents who adopt.

Meanwhile, some Republicans are wary of the proposal because it could potentially cause a slippery slope on other proxy voting in the future.

"Female members should not be forced to choose between representing their constituents and having children," Luna said. "Until Congress embraces changes to reflect American's family values, we will not have true representation in Washington, D.C."

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.