The Republican speaker, who has mostly wielded power by relying on the threat of retribution from President Trump, has chosen an institutional fight it’s not clear he can win.

He doesn't appear to have control of the House floor. An internal GOP fight over whether new parents serving in the House should be able to cast votes by proxy has metastasized into a battle of wills between competing factions of Republicans.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) canceled half a week's worth of House votes after failing to contain a revolt over proxy voting within his own party. Why it matters: It was Johnson's biggest legislative blow of 2025 thus far — and the first where President Trump wasn't providing him reinforcement.

Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday abruptly halted all work in the House after suffering a major defeat over his push to block remote voting in Congress for new parents.

House lawmakers who have newly born infants might gain the ability to choose a colleague to temporarily vote in their place after having a baby.

House Democrats are going after Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) over the Republican leadership effort to sink legislation allowing proxy voting for lawmakers on parental leave, even after the bill