Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., is resigning from the House Freedom Caucus because of opposition to her efforts to allow chamber members who are new parents to vote by proxy.
Luna announced her decision in a letter to caucus members Monday.
"With a heavy heart, I am resigning from the Freedom Caucus," Luna wrote in a "dear colleague" letter obtained by Axios.
The "mutual respect that has guided our caucus" has been "shattered," said Luna, who blamed Freedom Caucus members' attempts to kill her proxy voting rule change.
"A small group among us threatened the Speaker, vowing to halt floor proceedings indefinitely ... unless he altered the rules to block my discharge petition," Luna wrote.
She further explained her decision to leave the group.
"I cannot remain part of a caucus where a select few operate outside its guidelines, misuse its name, broker backroom deals that undermine its core values and where the lines of compromise and transaction are blurred, disparage me to the press, and encourage misrepresentation of me to the American people," she wrote, USA Today reported.
Luna is the fourth member the Freedom Caucus has lost in the past two years.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., was ousted from the group in 2023 because of her support for then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, was booted in July for endorsing a primary challenge to then-caucus Chair Bob Good, R-Va.
Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, resigned in protest of Davidson's ouster.
Luna's efforts to force a vote on her proxy change went against House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who fought against COVID-era proxy voting when Democrats controlled the House.
Luna launched a discharge petition this month and garnered the required 218 signatures House members to force a vote on the bipartisan resolution, which would allow a House member to vote by proxy if they or their spouse has given birth in the last 12 weeks, USA Today reported.
Proxy voting allows lawmakers to designate another member to vote on their behalf.
House Freedom Caucus reportedly urged leadership to kill the effort, proposing that the threshold of support needed for a discharge petition be raised.
Last week, Luna wrote on X that Johnson "is a kind man and his heart is in the right spot but he's wrong on proxy voting for new parents."
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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