Jamie Dupree: Republicans shut down the House over new moms and dads

Luna rounded up 218 signatures for a “discharge petition,” where a majority of members can go around House leaders to force action.

It was only the fifth successful petition this century — and it infuriated GOP leaders.

“Proxy voting, in my view, is unconstitutional,” said U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, who did not mention how he voted by proxy several dozen times in 2021 and 2022 after the COVID-19 outbreak.

Under pressure from conservatives, Johnson made a highly unusual procedural move of his own to kill the proxy plan. But in a House floor showdown, the speaker lost, as nine Republicans broke ranks.

That’s when things got even crazier: The speaker sent the House home and canceled votes for the rest of the week, accusing Luna and other rebellious Republicans of undercutting the president’s agenda.

“Something tells me that letting a new parent vote by proxy won’t derail our mission to pass the president’s agenda,” said Luna, who quit the conservative Freedom Caucus because of opposition to her plan.

Outside the Capitol, Luna and U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen, D-Colo. — who was holding her 9-week-old baby — drew a crowd of reporters.

“Congress would work a lot better if we got leadership out of the way and we actually worked together,” said Pettersen, who used coarser language to describe her reaction.

“Don’t f--- with moms,” said the Colorado Democrat, as baby Sam snoozed in her arms.

While Pettersen and Luna held court with reporters, up walked U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome.

She stopped to listen and clearly was not happy.

“It’s an extremely selfish resolution,” Greene said, ridiculing the nine Republicans who backed it.

“They shouldn’t go across the aisle and work with Democrats, while Democrats use a baby propped up around the floor,” Greene said, referring to Pettersen, who was standing no more than 10 feet away.

GOP leaders will try again next week to derail the proxy vote plan as some Republicans want no part of the change.

“Show up for work, or don’t run for Congress,” said U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas.

Next week might show whether others feel differently.

Jamie Dupree has covered national politics and Congress from Washington, D.C., since the Reagan administration. His column appears weekly in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. For more, check out his Capitol Hill newsletter at jamiedupree.substack.com.