The Democratic sponsors of legislation empowering new parents to vote remotely are rejecting a recent alternative from Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) designed to block the proxy vote legislation from reaching the floor.

Over the weekend, Johnson cut a deal with GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (Fla.), who was leading the charge to force floor action on proxy voting. Their compromise would create a system of “vote pairing,” designed to empower pregnant lawmakers and young mothers with some remote voice during the consideration of bills on the floor, though not a direct vote.

The compromise appeased Luna, but not the Democratic sponsors of the underlying proxy vote legislation — Reps. Brittany Pettersen (Colo.) and Sara Jacobs (Calif.) — who are accusing Johnson of watering down their parental-empowerment proposal while abandoning lawmakers with young families.

“The reality is —........

© The Hill