Speaker Johnson Negotiates on Proxy Voting

WASHINGTON – Speaker Mike Johnson has reached a deal with Republican Representative Anna Paulina Luna of Florida over her push to allow new parents to vote by proxy, a development that is set to unlock the House floor after the explosive issue brought the chamber to a standstill. Details from Correspondent Bernie Bennett.

VERBATIM: Under the agreement being worked out, the House would formalize “vote pairing.” The procedure allows a member – in this case, a new mother – who must be absent for a vote to coordinate with a lawmaker voting opposite their stance who is willing to abstain from the vote, that way the new mother’s absence is canceled out.

Additionally, Johnson is still looking at increasing accessibility for young mothers in the Capitol, a prospect that the Speaker revealed last week.

Johnson announced the deal on a conference call with GOP lawmakers Sunday afternoon while also making the case for lawmakers to support the budget resolution adopted by the Senate in the wee hours of Saturday morning.

Bernie Bennett in Washington.