By Shawn Fleetwood, The Federalist, April 04, 2025
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
When it came to standing against the anti-family abortion amendment in her own state last year, Luna was largely absent from the fight.
Another week has come and gone in the nation’s capital, which means congressional Republicans are either doing nothing productive, wasting taxpayer money, or losing major policy fights. In the case of this week (and many others), it’s all of the above.
On Americans’ dime, the GOP-run House was all but forced to abruptly end work on its legislative agenda on Tuesday for the remainder of the week amid efforts led in part by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., to allow representatives who are new parents to vote by proxy. In other words, Luna pushed to amend House rules to permit these members to vote on key legislation without having to physically show up to work.
When the matter came to a head on Tuesday, House Republicans attempted to advance a procedural rule allowing several Trump legislative priorities to proceed to the floor. The proposed rule notably contained language effectively nuking Luna’s efforts, prompting the Florida congresswoman and eight of her beta-male GOP colleagues to side with House Democrats in defeating it. With no good options, Speaker Mike Johnson canceled votes in the lower chamber until next week, leaving the passage of key measures like the SAVE Act (an election integrity bill) in limbo. ….