With the House at a standstill amid GOP disputes about proxy voting for new parents, a sense is growing that President Trump might have to weigh in to get them out of the chaos — and he is already being pulled into the battle. The arcane disputes on constitutionality, quorum, discharge petitio ns, procedural rules, and hardball tactics from leadership appeared to — understandably — be extremely low on the president’s priority list. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday she had not talked to Trump about the issue. If he didn’t know about it before, he does now. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla), who is leading the GOP rebels as she advocates for parental proxy voting, said on NewsNation Wednesday night that she had talked to the president about the matter. “The President assured that this would get resolved,” Luna said, arguing that she and the eight other Republicans who voted with her are not blocking Trump’s agenda, since leadership could tee up legislation on judges and proof of citizenship to vote without killing her proxy voting push. The fact is, though, that the GOP dispute is derailing Trump-supported bills and could hold up the House floor indefinitely. Other Republicans are threatening to block any procedural rules to tee up other business until Luna’s push is squashed, according to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). The clash has now broken out of legislative procedure-nerd circles and into the broader sphere — with Trump allies like Cleta Mitchell, the elections reform activist was central in Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election, chiming in on X to scold Luna for being “self-centered.” It seems that the only thing that has reliably held the fractious, razor-thin House Republican majority together this year on critical votes is Trump.  The president talked on the phone with Reps. Keith Self (R-Texas) and Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) to push them to re-elect Johnson as Speaker, as the vote was still ongoing. And Trump had multiple phone calls with Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.), a final holdout on the budget resolution framework teeing up his “big beautiful bill,” in the minutes ahead of the stunning vote when the House adopted it. Others on the right outside of Congress are turning on Luna. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s daughter Evita Pilar Duffy noted in a post on X that her dad resigned from Congress in order to be with his family when her baby sister, who has down syndrome, was “born with two holes in her heart and needed a very risky surgery,” saying members should resign if they have small children and cannot fill their duties as a member of Congress. Johnson has formed a close relationship with the president, with other Republicans sometimes chalking up the Speaker’s success so far to that alliance. Luna has noted that Ivanka Trump oversaw extension of paid maternity and paternity leave benefits to the federal workforce in Trump’s first term, and that Trump supported that.  Luna said last week that she heard leadership was considering trying to get outside pressure on her — declining to confirm that meant Trump. “You guys can assume,” she said. I’m Emily Brooks, House leadership reporter at The Hill, here with a weekly look at the influences and debates on the right in Washington. Tell me what’s on your radar: ebrooks@thehill.com FREEDOM CAUCUS TO GROW AS LUNA EXITS: The House Freedom Caucus is expected to welcome between four to six new members in the coming weeks, the hardline group’s chairman Andy Harris tells me. The news comes in wake of Luna leaving the House Freedom Caucus this week, outraged about how its members aggressively opposed her proxy voting for new moms push. And the group lost two others last year, when it removed Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) and Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) left. But it appears the group is poised to make up for that. “I think we’re in the position to add between four and six new freshman,” Harris told me. “I suspect that we may even get more interest in the Freedom Caucus as I think we’ve shown that we can be effective.” “We have the right amount of people,” Harris said. “It would be a problem if we’re too small or too large. I think we’re in the sweet spot right now.” The group has around 30 members, outsiders estimate. It does not make its membership list public, keeping with a tradition of secrecy about its inner workings. Judging from re-posts on the Freedom Caucus X account, two of those new recruits appear to be Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) — who has already made plenty of headlines — and Rep. Mark Harris (R-N.C.). Mark Harris’s spokesperson told me he “has great respect for the House Freedom Caucus” and “looks forward to advancing commonsense, conservative policies in the House.” Rep. Marlin Stuzman (R-Ind.), a founding member of the group who took an eight-year hiatus from Congress, has also re-joined the group. “When we started it, Obama was president, and our push was to push leadership to the right on our negotiations with President Obama,” Stutzman told me. “It's very different now. I see Freedom Caucus as a support tank for President Trump.” THREE MORE THINGS… Americans for Prosperity is launching a seven-figure national Tax Day as and grassroots campaign to highlight tax hikes Americans will face if Trump’s tax cuts are not extended. The digital ad running in the DC market says: “This huge tax hike would create a lot of angry voters.” The group is also planning rallies in states around the issue. The goal is to push Congress to extend the tax cuts as fast as possible.  The Third Term Project – an initiative spearheaded by Republicans for National Renewal, which describes itself as a nationalist and populist group – plans to target local Republican party organizations to adopt resolutions in stating support for a constitutional amendment, to allow Trump to seek a third term. As I scooped earlier this week, the sample resolution “calls upon federal and state legislators to initiate appropriate constitutional amendment processes under Article V” to allow the president “up to three terms in office.” It frames the third term push in terms of “voter choice,” saying that “expanding voter choice strengthens American institutions while maintaining constitutional safeguards.” Trump forms alliance with another union — Present at Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcement of reciprocal tariffs was United Autoworkers (UAW) President Shawn Fain, who heaped praise on his announcement of 25 percent tariffs on foreign automobiles. The union, though, has sharply criticized Trump for moving to end collective bargaining for federal workers and opposed him in the election. Fox News has more on the unlikely alliance. Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think: ebrooks@thehill.com ...read more read less