House Republicans are battling over whether and how to squash a looming vote on allowing new parents to vote by proxy, after Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) circumvented leadership with a rarely-successful legislative tool to force action on what would be a historic rule change.

Republican leaders are discouraging support for the legislation, and trying to get the Republicans who signaled support for the move to change their minds. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is arguing publicly that proxy voting is unconstitutional.

Some hardline Republicans — aligned with leadership in opposition to the proposal from their fellow House Freedom Caucus member — are pressing leaders to pursue more aggressive tactics, brainstorming procedural hurdles they can throw in front of Luna’s proxy voting effort.

Luna led the successful discharge petition, getting signatures from 218 members — including eleven other Republicans — to force floor action on the resolution allowing 12 weeks of proxy voting for new parents.

Despite the efforts to squash it, she is confident she will succeed, suggesting that she could derail future priorities from GOP leadership if they thwart her effort.

“If people want to do that, then, you know, you have a two-seat majority, so good luck passing anything,” Luna said, adding: “If they want to play hardball, let's play f------ hardball.”

The earliest that Luna or one of her allies could trigger floor action on the matter is next week. Luna, not wanting to tip off House leadership who might spoil her plans, declined to say when it would come up.

Leaders are rushing to figure out how to thwart the matter before then.

Proxy voting, a process in which a member votes on behalf of one who is absent, was widely used by both parties when it was implemented under Democratic leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, but drew widespread Republican criticism and legal challenges.

Johnson spoke against the parental proxy voting push in a closed-door House GOP conference meeting on Tuesday, and the arguments resonated with at least one member who signed the discharge petition, a source told The Hill. Discharge petitions are a tool of the minority, Johnson argued. And he noted that he helped present a........

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