As much as it pains this writer, who genuinely thinks that Florida GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna is a rising star in the party, to write this: Luna is dead wrong about her ongoing congressional fight.
For those unaware, the Republicans are in the midst of strife right now thanks to a clash between Luna and House Speaker Mike Johnson, as the two sides disagree over a proxy voting provision, per The Hill.
In short, Luna feels that new mothers — at the very least — should be allowed to vote by proxy on the House floor.
Johnson and most Republicans, though not all, oppose proxy voting, hence the deep rift.
Luna, for one, took a victory lap on X Thursday after President Donald Trump came out in favor of new mothers being allowed to proxy vote.
“You’re having a baby, you should be able to call in and vote,” Trump told reporters, per Associated Press reporter Seung Min Kim. “I’m in favor of that.”
Luna responded by lauding Trump’s “pro-family” bona fides:
The pro-life, pro-family, pro-America President. 🇺🇸
Thank you, @POTUS https://t.co/N7semao8rl
— Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) April 3, 2025
Should members of Congress be allowed to vote by proxy?
Look, I still think Luna is a rising star, and Trump is a political force for good unlike any other, but Johnson and the Republicans opposing proxy voting are completely right about this.
Two key things stand out.
First are the more practical concerns with proxy voting.
(Proxy voting, for the unaware, is simply the process of voting without actually being on the House floor.)
Not only does it fly in the face of the DOGE directive of getting government bureaucrats to actually work in office, it’s also extremely doubtful that it would be used for good.
While I would never disparage the integrity of Luna or most new mothers (hey, this writer has a new baby in the house himself… I get it), the Democrats — who conveniently back Luna on this — aren’t nearly as trustworthy.
Just look at the way they pulled the wool over everyone’s collective eyes about the cognitive deterioration of former President Joe Biden. You’re going to trust those guys to responsibly use proxy voting, and not just push sinister agendas?
But even if proxy voting were somehow foolproof and secure, it doesn’t address the second, far more conservative issue with proxy voting for new mothers.
Namely, having a new mother in Congress is antithetical to traditional conservatism.
No, this obviously doesn’t mean new mothers can’t be lawmakers, but think about it.
Few conservative tenets are more cherished than being “pro-life” and “pro-family.” Luna herself said so.
Part of being pro-family is pushing for traditional values and roles, and that includes motherhood. A mom’s most important focus can and should always be maintaining the family.
Conversely, the most important focus of a duly elected government official is to their constituents.
Asking a woman to do both means that neither will actually get that full attention. And that’s a darn shame for the constituents, but a far bigger loss for the young child.
And all of that is to say nothing of the disruption this squabble is causing in the day-to-day proceedings of Congress, which doesn’t exactly reflect well on the GOP to the American voter.
Again, I aggressively sympathize with new parents. And I’m also not advocating for any sort of literal ban on new parents in Congress.
But physically removing lawmakers from Congress — and mothers away from their children — is nothing more than twisting your priorities.
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