Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday tried and failed to kill a bipartisan effort to change House rules so that lawmakers would temporarily be allowed to vote remotely after the birth of a childshopee, suffering an embarrassing defeat that paralyzed the chamber and signaled that the proposal could soon be adopted.

Using strong-arm tactics in a bid to block the measure, Mr. Johnson tried an extraordinary use of the speaker’s power to prevent the House from even considering a measure backed by half its members. But nine Republicans refused to go along, instead dealing him a public rebuke that left him without a strategy for moving ahead.

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After the vote, Mr. Johnson abruptly canceled votes for the rest of the week, sending members home and leaving legislative business unsettled. Under House rules, Republican leaders are required to bring the proxy voting resolution to a vote within two legislative days. But they appeared to be refusing to do anything else until the holdouts in their party cave, which they have shown no sign of doing. As Republicans left Washington for the week having passed no bills, it was not clear how or when the issue would be resolved.

The showdown on the House floor was a capstone of a long-running fight over the rights of new parents in Congress.

ImageRepresentative Anna Paulina Luna,66jogo Republican of Florida, and her cohorts successfully used a tool called the discharge petition — a demand signed by 218 members of the House, the majority of the body — to force consideration of the measure.Credit...Eric Lee/The New York Times

It began over a year ago, when Representative Anna Paulina Luna, Republican of Florida, began agitating for a change to House rules that would allow new mothers to designate a colleague to vote by proxy on their behalf for up to six weeks after giving birth. Ms. Luna landed on the idea after her own child was born.

See Which House Members Rejected Johnson’s Effort Against Proxy Voting

Nine Republicans joined Democrats to force a vote to allow members who had new children to vote by proxy.

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The Republican preparations have taken place at Mr. Vance’s home in Cincinnati and in online sessions with members of his own inner circle and Jason Miller, a Trump campaign strategist. Mr. Vance’s team also pointed to his frequent media interactions on the campaign trail as helpful prep for the debate spotlight. Mr. Vance has offered a potential preview of his debate strategy by repeatedly questioning Mr. Walz over his military service and attacking him as an out-of-touch liberal.

More bleak headlines follow: “Bidenomics FAILED.” “Bidenomics is a RECORD FAILURE.” “Americans’ incomes down THREE STRAIGHT YEARS.” “Unemployment RISING.” “America may soon be in a RECESSION.”

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