House Speaker Mike Johnson called the outcome « disappointing, » adding that a « handful of Republicans joined with all the Democrats to take down a rule — that’s rarely done. »
The House on Tuesday defeated an effort that would have effectively killed a push to allow new parents to vote remotely around the birth of their child, an embarrassing loss for House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Nine Republicans joined all Democrats during a procedural vote to help sink it. Johnson called the outcome « disappointing », adding that a « handful of Republicans joined with all the Democrats to take down a rule — that’s rarely done. »
Johnson said it halted further legislative action this week.
« Let me just make this clear, that rule being brought down means that we can’t have any further action on the floor this week », Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, told reporters after the vote. « It’s very unfortunate. We’ll regroup and come back. »
The fight over whether to allow remote voting for new moms and dads who serve in Congress came to a head this week with Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Florida Republican, leaving the conservative House Freedom Caucus as her colleagues plotted against the bipartisan measure.
