Speaker Mike Johnson said Friday that President Donald Trump backs his effort to block proxy voting for new parents, a day after the president scrambled Johnson’s plans and endorsed a move to allow it.
Johnson thanked Trump in the X post for a recent phone call, in which he attributed Trump as saying: “Mike, you have my proxy on proxy voting.”
Johnson is in a serious bind on the matter, with the House floor effectively frozen until he can secure an agreement. Trump added a new wrinkle Thursday by telling reporters he didn’t see what was so “controversial” about Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna’s push to allow new parents to vote by proxy.
GOP leaders hope Trump’s blessing of Johnson’s position will persuade Luna to back off her plans to force a floor vote on the plan next week. Hard-liners have threatened to block any floor action until Luna’s proxy vote push is snuffed out.
Notably, Trump didn’t post any statement himself after saying Thursday that women having a baby should be able to vote by proxy. Luna told reporters several days ago that she didn’t want to involve Trump, but if he got involved, she was confident he would be supportive of her pro-woman, pro-family effort.