Far-right Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) announced on Monday that she is resigning from the House Freedom Caucus, slamming the group’s tactics in a harshly worded letter. Luna’s departure comes after an ongoing clash with GOP leaders and hard-right Republicans over her push to allow proxy voting for new parents in Congress.
In her letter to the Freedom Caucus, Luna said the respect among lawmakers in the group had been “shattered” when some conservatives worked to block her proposal for parental proxy voting. The controversy centers around a proposal that would allow new parents, or lawmakers whose spouses give birth, to have another member vote on their behalf for up to 12 weeks.
Luna’s push for the proposal gained enough support to move forward, including signatures from 11 Republicans. However, GOP leadership, including Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), has strongly opposed it, arguing that proxy voting is unconstitutional.
Luna accused some Freedom Caucus members of threatening to stop all House business unless Speaker Johnson changed the rules to block her push. She claimed that certain members tried to misrepresent her and undermine her efforts by linking her proposal to unrelated issues, including the SAVE Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote.
In her resignation letter, Luna expressed her frustration, writing, “With a heavy heart, I am resigning from the Freedom Caucus. 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 encourage misrepresentation of me to the American people.”
She also called out the Freedom Caucus members who are part of the House Rules Committee—Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas), Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), and Morgan Griffith (R-Va.)—for attempting to change the rules in a way that would prevent her proposal from reaching the floor.
“These actions were a betrayal of trust and a return to the kind of manipulative tactics we have long criticized,” Luna wrote. “I have never voted by proxy, yet one of our own on the Rules Committee has done so over 30 times.”
In addition to her resignation letter, Luna sent a separate message to all House Republicans, blasting the hard-line tactics used to stop her proposal. She called the effort to link her proposal to the SAVE Act “a disgraceful betrayal” and argued that such actions undermine the integrity of the GOP and the future of the legislative process.
“I cannot remain in a group that would smear me as being against election integrity and extort the Speaker to derail a just cause,” she added. “This undermines our integrity and the future of this body. Supporting female representation and new families is not a fringe issue—it is a cornerstone of a vibrant, representative Congress.”
