REPORT: Outspoken GOP firebrand resigns from House Freedom Caucus in scathing letter

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From Fox News: Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., is resigning from the House Freedom Caucus, she announced in a letter to fellow conservatives on Monday.

It’s the latest escalation in her fight against House GOP leaders and a small group of members on the right flank of their conference over the issue of proxy voting. Luna has teamed up with Democrats and several other Republicans on a mechanism aimed at forcing consideration of legislation that allows new parents in the House to vote remotely for 12 weeks around their baby’s birth.

“I have consistently supported each of you, even in moments of disagreement, honoring the mutual respect that has guided our caucus,” Luna wrote. “That respect, however, was shattered last week.”

The focus of her anger is a brief incident from earlier this month when a group of House conservatives held up a chamber-wide vote on unrelated legislation to press GOP leaders to kill Luna’s measure – known as a “discharge petition.”

A discharge petition allows lawmakers to force a bill onto the House floor, despite objections from leadership, provided the mechanism gets signatures from a majority of the chamber.

House Speaker Mike Johnson had said last week, “We addressed this in conference this morning. A couple of our, a handful of our colleagues, have gotten behind the effort, and, look, I’m a father. I’m pro-family. Here’s the problem. If you create a proxy vote opportunity just for young parents, mothers and, the fathers in those situations, then where is the limiting principle?”

Other Republicans also warned that if you allowed proxy voting for one, it would ultimately be allowed for more situations, and could easily be abused.

Luna wrote in her letter, “Acting within the House conference rules – rules we all agreed to – I sought to bring a vote to the floor on a measure that would allow new mothers in Congress (fewer than 14 in our nation’s history) and fathers, if they choose, to vote by proxy. This was a modest, family-centered proposal. Yet, a small group among us threatened the Speaker, vowing to halt floor proceedings indefinitely – regardless of the legislation at stake, including President Trump’s agenda – unless he altered the rules to block my discharge petition.”

Luna had announced on Friday:

I’ve approached this entire process with honesty and integrity, doing things the right way. Unfortunately, some members of the House Freedom Caucus have threatened to shut down the floor if the Speaker allows my proxy vote discharge petition to be considered. As a result, it’s likely I will no longer be a member of the Freedom Caucus.

I will not compromise on something as important as ensuring new moms can vote while recovering. I believe this change will improve the institution in the long term.

The conduct explained in the tweet below is not what we agreed to as a conference, and I will continue to be transparent with the American people about what’s really happening behind the scenes.

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Tex.) wrote Friday, “Respectfully to my friend – this (unconstitutional) rule would ultimately NOT be limited to moms. Cancer patients, dads, & worst of all, people who lazily abuse it (eg, voting from boats). She leaves out her discharge allows no amendments! We should show up to work/vote.”

Luna fired back, “Chip, If it removes allowing proxy voting for quorum, it is not unconstitutional. If I was your friend you wouldn’t be sticking a clause to kill the discharge petition in the same rule as a voter integrity bill. You are trying to paint me as someone who doesn’t support election integrity. You have become what you hated.”

Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) said last week, “The idea of proxy voting I’ve been against since Nancy Pelosi started, you know, and I’ve been very vocal about that as as others have, too. I’ve never proxy voted and I don’t think it’s constitutional, but I also think this is one of those unique jobs where you you have to be looking a colleague in the eye and view them on the floor to get to, to be able to do this job effectively. You can’t do this job remotely..Proxy voting is one of those things where you’re either for or against them. I’m just strongly against it for a lot of reasons. Constitutional reason matters a lot, but also just the ability for us to properly do our jobs. You can’t do your job properly from a remote location. You just can’t do that.”

Political commentator Dr. Carol Swain weighed in with a warning against Luna’s proposal.

“I can’t support this proposal. It opens the door for all kinds of abuses down the road. Proxy voting should not be allowed or encouraged,” she wrote.

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