Pelosi Extends House Proxy Voting

While tourists can now roam the halls of the Capitol and members of Congress can mingle mask-free, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has once again extended the COVID-imposed policy of proxy, or remote voting.

Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced on Monday that she would not require members to be physically present for votes until mid-May at the earliest, extending the order she put in place at the start of the 117th Congress in January 2021.

Pelosi cited a Monday letter from House Sergeant-at-Arms William J. Walker stating that the public health emergency “remains in effect.”

“I am hereby extending the ‘covered period’ designated on January 4, 2021 … until May 14, 2022,” Pelosi wrote in a “Dear Colleague” letter.

Instead of being present on the floor, members can continue to submit their votes on legislation and other matters through designated colleagues.

By contrast, the Senate has required in-person votes throughout the pandemic.

Members of the House on both sides of the aisle have repeatedly taken advantage of proxy voting since it was introduced in May 2020 in order to handle other business while serving in Congress. 

In one instance, Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) requested to vote by proxy in order to file paperwork to run for mayor of Los Angeles, according to the LA Times. Bass submitted her intent to vote by proxy two days before.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and GOP members previously sued House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for authorizing proxy voting.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who has frequently voted by proxy, used the practice in order to conduct a video interview in his car with the Philadelphia Inquirer, according to the same outlet.

“We have a long vote series today, so I got to step out of the Capitol and I’m excited about having this conversation,” he said in the interview.

Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) reportedly submitted a proxy vote in order to return to his home state for a Senate campaign event.

Even House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY) voted via proxy earlier this year, on the same day she appeared with former President Donald Trump for a fundraiser at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.

Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Fla
Rep. Bill Johnson argued the coronavirus isn’t a valid excuse to continue proxy voting.
House Television via AP

Currently, there are 43 active letters of intent to use proxy voting in the House. The oldest one was submitted by Rep. Albio Sires (D-NJ) on Dec. 2 of last year.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) blasted the extension Tuesday, calling it the “show-up-if-convenient policy,” in a statement to The Federalist.

“This has nothing to do with science, but everything to do with Democrats’ insatiable obsession with control,” he said.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy responds to a question from the news media during a press conference outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, USA, 27 May 2020.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy accused Democrats of being obsessed with “control.”
EPA/SHAWN THEW

McCarthy challenged the order as unconstitutional soon after it took effect, taking the matter all the way to the Supreme Court, which rejected his challenge in January.

Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) echoed the minority leader’s criticism on Twitter, saying Democrats were “abusing” the practice.

“Nancy Pelosi can do what she wants- she’s the Speaker. But let’s no longer pretend that Covid is the reason for continued proxy voting. Democrats are abusing it, and it should end…and it will next year,” he wrote.

If Republicans do take back the House in this fall’s midterm elections, McCarthy has vowed to eliminate proxy voting.

“Our very first day is rules,” he recently told Punchbowl News. “We’re no longer going to do proxy voting. People are going to be here.”

While Pelosi continues the pandemic regulation, state and local governments have lifted most COVID-19 restrictions, including mask mandates and vaccine requirements.

More than 80% of US citizens have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccines, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with hospitalizations and deaths continuing to drop.


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