Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday formally sidelined a proposal pushed by Colorado Democrat Brittany Pettersen to permit remote voting by new parents after the measure’s GOP sponsor reached a deal with House Speaker Mike Johnson.

Pettersen, who gave birth in late January and has traveled to Washington with her newborn son multiple times since, said the Republicans’ compromise was “not a workable solution” and vowed to continue pressing to change House rules so new parents can eventually vote by proxy.

Florida Republican Anna Paulina Luna, who sponsored the proxy-voting resolution with Pettersen, agreed with Johnson over the weekend to revive a dormant procedure known as “vote pairing,” which effectively cancels out absent members’ votes on the House floor. Under the procedure, a lawmaker who intends to vote the opposite way from an absent member — typically from the other party — agrees to vote “present” instead.

Cradling her 10-week-old son Sam in her arms, Pettersen thanked Luna in remarks on the House floor shortly before the Republican-controlled chamber killed their resolution in a party-line vote on a procedural measure.

“I understand that my colleague, Rep. Luna, has done everything she can to try to find a path forward, and this is ultimately the only option that existed at the end, but this does not address the real barriers that people will continue to face,” Pettersen said.

“Do you think that there would be one Republican here today that would stand and vote present on the bills this week coming forward, on my behalf?” she asked, alluding to hotly debated legislation involving President Donald Trump’s agenda, including a controversial budget resolution. “I don’t think so. This is why this is not a workable solution.”

Added Pettersen: “And so while I appreciate trying to find whatever common ground we can, this is not a deal, this does not solve our problem, and the work continues.”

A week earlier, Johnson brought House business to a halt after eight other Republicans joined Luna and the chamber’s Democrats in a vote that would have forced a vote on Luna’s and Pettersen’s resolution. Their leverage involved a “discharge petition,” a rare procedural move to require a floor vote over the speaker’s objections once a majority of House members have signed on, like happened before last week’s standstill.

Johnson and other Republicans have long expressed opposition to proxy voting, calling the practice unconstitutional.

In a statement issued after her proposal’s demise, Pettersen — only the 13th House member to give birth while in office — argued that arcane House rules should be updated so that all lawmakers “have a seat at the table.”

“We need leaders fighting for parents and families — but today, Speaker Johnson turned his back on them,” Pettersen said. “Across the country, working families are making tough decisions about where to find safe, affordable child care, how to balance long work hours and family responsibilities, and how to afford the rising costs of housing, groceries, and everyday necessities. How can Congress expect to address the issues facing families if they exclude those who understand those challenges firsthand?”