R-FLA. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, of the House Freedom Caucus, resigned in a letter to fellow conservatives on Monday.
This is the latest escalation in the battle between House GOP leaders and a small group of members on the right side of the meeting on the issue of proxy voting.
Luna has worked with Democrats and several other Republicans on a mechanism aimed at enforcing new House parents to consider laws that allow babies to vote remotely for 12 weeks at birth.
“Even in moments of disagreement, I have consistently supported each of you,” writes Luna. “But that respect was crushed last week.”
Her rage focus is a brief incident from earlier this month that published indoor-wide votes on unrelated laws against unrelated laws to report on GOP leaders to kill Luna's measures known as the “discharge petition.”
A discharge petition allows lawmakers to push the bill into the House floor, despite objections from leadership, if the mechanism obtains signatures from most of the room.
“Acting within the rules of the House of Representatives meeting – the rules we all agreed to – I voted on the floor in a measure that allowed new mothers in Congress (under the age of 14 in our country's history) and tried to allow my father to vote on behalf of the government,” Luna continued.
“This was a modest, family-centric proposal. However, the small group between us has threatened speakers by vowing to suspend floor procedures indefinitely unless we change the rules to block my discharge petition, regardless of laws, including President Trump's agenda.”
She praised Andy Harris (R-Md.), the president of the House Freedom Caucus. He called his actions a “gentleman,” but added, “in a heavy heart, I have resigned from the Free Caucus.”
“I cannot remain part of the caucus where a selected few people work outside of guidelines, misuse their names, where the broker's backroom undermines its core values and where the line of compromise and dealing is blurred, encourages embarrassment with the press and misrepresent me to the American people,” writes Luna.
She will be the first House Freedom Caucus member at the 119th Congress to leave a group that has not promoted membership.
The latest departures before Luna include Warren Davidson of R-Ohio and R-Texas' Randy Weber, both pushed out Rep, Rep.
Troy Nehls, R-Texas, left during a shake-up.
R-La. speaker Mike Johnson said he believes that proxy votes are “unconstitutional” after a weekly closure meeting of House Republicans on Tuesday.
“We addressed this at this morning’s meeting, and a few of our colleagues have reached the back of the effort.
“This is the question: Where are the restrictions principles when creating proxy voting opportunities only for young parents, mothers, and fathers in such circumstances?”
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, one of Luna's now-former House Freedom Caucus Colleagues, write on X of the issue, “Respectfully to my friend – this (unconstitutional) rule would ultimately NOT be limited to moms. Cancer patients, dads, & worst of all, people who lazily abuse it (eg, voting from boats). She leaves out her discharge allows no amendments! We should show up to work/vote.”
