House GOP considers bringing back ‘paired voting’ to restore floor schedule

This week, the House GOP is aiming to reinvigorate “paired voting” to ensure the floor schedule gets back on track. The Senate-amended budget resolution is set to reach the House floor for consideration.

Speaker Mike Johnson from Louisiana effectively resolved a previous deadlock over proxy voting, which resulted in him canceling House votes the previous week. The root of the standoff stemmed from Rep. Anna Paulina Luna’s efforts to secure a vote on a measure allowing proxy voting for new parents, despite reaching the necessary signatures on a discharge petition.

Johnson and Luna came to a mutual agreement over the weekend to utilize the “live/dead pairing” procedure, a historic method originating from the 1800s that offers a solution for members unable to physically vote due to circumstances such as parenthood, bereavement, or emergencies. The concept of vote pairing involves members mutually offsetting the votes of absentees.

Regarding the Senate-amended budget resolution, House leaders, including Johnson, emphasized the necessity of collaboration to draft a unified “One Big Beautiful Bill” that aligns with President Donald Trump’s agenda. They denounced a divisive approach and emphasized the House’s unwillingness to accept an uncompromising proposition from the Senate.

Looking ahead, the House schedule aims to cover previously canceled agenda items from the prior week, including Congressional Review Act disapproval resolutions targeting rules set by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, legislation mandating proof of citizenship for voter registration, and bills restricting federal judges’ authority to issue nationwide injunctions.

Meanwhile, the Senate has wrapped up its work on the budget resolution in advance of the recess and will shift its focus to processing nominations. Senate Majority Leader John Thune plans to hold debate-limiting votes on key ambassador nominations, such as George Glass for U.S. ambassador to Japan and Mike Huckabee for U.S. ambassador to Israel.

Additionally, the nomination of Elbridge Colby for undersecretary of Defense for policy and Paul Atkins for a member of the Securities and Exchange Commission will also be under consideration. Both chambers have a full hearing schedule, including discussions on federal office space needs and the functionality of Congress itself.

As the week unfolds, the political landscape will see the House and Senate engaging in critical debates and actions to advance their respective agendas and nominations, marking yet another eventful chapter in the congressional proceedings.