Speaker Pelosi and her Democratic lawmakers are diluting the representation of their constituents for the first time in history. Republicans are going to court to stop them.
The House is returning to Washington under a new rule that allows a lawmaker to designate a representative to cast a vote on his or her behalf while the country is gripped by the coronavirus pandemic.
It means one member in the Capitol can cast proxy votes on behalf of as many as 10 members who stayed home.
THE LAWSUIT
The report states that House Republicans will be filing a lawsuit against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to stop the proxy voting. Democrats forced this through without any GOP support. Republicans argue that proxy voting is unconstitutional.
The Hill reports House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is expected to spearhead the legal action with the support of 20 members of his conference including Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) and GOP Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), along with four constituents from different regions. The suit is expected to be filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.
Pelosi declared the lawsuit is a “sad stunt,” and released the following statement:
“House Republicans’ sad stunt shows that their only focus is to delay and obstruct urgently-needed action to meet the needs of American workers and families during the coronavirus crisis.
“The House made its will clear two weeks ago when it voted to implement remote voting by proxy and other necessary measures to ensure that Congress can continue to protect lives and livelihoods. The House’s position that remote voting by proxy during a pandemic is fully consistent with the Constitution is supported by expert legal analyses. Further, the Supreme Court made clear over a century ago that the Constitution empowers each chamber of Congress to set its own procedural rules.
“As our nation approaches the heartbreaking milestone of 100,000 lives lost to COVID-19, House Republicans must stop their dangerous obstruction and join Democrats to save lives, defeat the virus and grow the economy.”
Nancy deliberately lies and deceives Americans as she tramples our rule of law.
Rep. Chip Roy tweeted, “Our Constitution simply does not permit Representatives to dilute their constituents’ representation by institutionally delegating their duty to vote to another member & violating the traditional recognition of physical presence for a quorum. #NoProxyVotes.”
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