{"id":2326208,"date":"2024-08-18T13:03:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-18T17:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mitch-mcconnell-defends-houses-proxy-voting-practice-in-lawsuit-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-08-18T13:05:50","modified_gmt":"2024-08-18T17:05:50","slug":"mitch-mcconnell-defends-houses-proxy-voting-practice-in-lawsuit-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mitch-mcconnell-defends-houses-proxy-voting-practice-in-lawsuit-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Mitch McConnell defends House\u2019s proxy voting practice in lawsuit &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmitch-mcconnell-defends-houses-proxy-voting-practice-in-lawsuit-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2326208&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>In a recent legal \u200bbrief, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell defended \u2063the\u200b House\u2019s use \u200cof\u2062 proxy voting, which was implemented \u2062by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in May 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. \u200dDespite \u2063his past\u200c opposition to the practice, McConnell argued that courts should not interfere with Congress&#8217;s voting\u200d methods. His comments came in \u200cresponse to a lawsuit filed by\u200c Texas Attorney General Ken\u200d Paxton, challenging the \u2063legality of legislation passed \u200dvia proxy voting, claiming it lacked a quorum. The \u2062case is currently in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, \u2062where\u200b McConnell contended that the lower court&#8217;s ruling could negatively impact Congress&#8217;s ability to function, especially during emergencies. While McConnell \u200ccriticized the \u2063way proxy voting was utilized under \u2062Pelosi, he emphasized\u2064 the need for flexibility during national crises and the potential\u2064 risks of invalidating established\u200b legislative processes.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Mitch McConnell defends House&rsquo;s proxy voting practice in lawsuit<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1679024\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Senate Minority Leader <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mitch-mcconnell\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mitch McConnell<\/a> (R-KY) argued in a lawsuit on Friday that despite his &ldquo;fierce opposition&rdquo; to House Speaker <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/nancy-pelosi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Nancy Pelosi <\/a>(D-CA) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-freedom-caucus-asks-mccarthy-to-move-to-vacate-speakers-chair-remove-authoritarian-pelosi\/\" title=\"House Freedom Caucus Asks McCarthy To Move To \u2018Vacate\u2019 Speaker\u2019s Chair, Remove \u2018Authoritarian\u2019 Pelosi\">allowing proxy voting<\/a> in 2020, he believes the courts should not interfere with Congress&rsquo;s voting practices.<\/p>\n<p>McConnell made the argument in an <a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.ca5.219021\/gov.uscourts.ca5.219021.74.0.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">amicus brief<\/a> drafted by former Attorney General Bill Barr and other lawyers, warning that a Texas federal court&rsquo;s decision to declare some legislation that passed with proxy votes unenforceable was out of line. The case is now before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.<\/p>\n<p>The court &ldquo;[assigned] to itself the duty to define terms that the Framers never intended the courts to interpret,&rdquo; McConnell said.<\/p>\n<p>Pelosi made proxy voting an option beginning in May 2020, citing COVID-19. The practice allowed House lawmakers to vote remotely instead of on Capitol Hill.<\/p>\n<p>However, Pelosi allowed the option to stretch through the end of her term as speaker in December 2023. By that point, lawmakers from both parties were openly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2022\/12\/23\/pelosis-swan-song-majority-of-congress-votes-remotely-by-proxy-for-1-7-trillion-spending-bill\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">abusing<\/a> the privilege, though a study at the time found Democrats used proxy voting far more.<\/p>\n<p>Proxy voting became a source of controversy as House lawmakers routinely skipped out on voting in-person. In a form they were required to fill out each time they voted remotely, they would cite the &ldquo;ongoing health emergency.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Scrutiny over the practice reached a peak right before the holidays in 2022 when more than half of House lawmakers voted remotely on a $1.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rino-sen-shelby-slips-656-million-worth-of-earmarks-into-omnibus\/\" title=\"RINO Sen. Shelby Slips 6 Million Worth of Earmarks Into Omnibus\">7 trillion omnibus spending bill<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The State of Texas, led by Attorney General <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/Ken-Paxton\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Ken Paxton<\/a>, sued the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, arguing the agencies could not use money they received from the legislation because a quorum had not been present when the vote passed the House.<\/p>\n<p>McConnell sided with the DOJ and DHS, arguing to the appellate court in his amicus brief that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/justice-alito-moves-up-deadline-for-supreme-court-briefing-in-pennsylvania-lawsuit-to-flip-the-election\/\" title=\"Justice Alito Moves Up Deadline For Supreme Court Briefing in Pennsylvania Lawsuit to Flip the Election\">lower court&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s ruling &ldquo;threatens Congress&rsquo;s ability to conduct business on a day-to-day basis.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;An ironclad physical presence requirement removes necessary flexibility during national emergencies,&rdquo; McConnell said. &ldquo;It risks invalidating longstanding Senate procedures, particularly the ubiquitous practices of unanimous consent and voice votes. Finally, it imperils a significant portion of already-enacted legislation.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Still, McConnell emphasized that he disagreed with how the House used proxy voting under Pelosi&rsquo;s leadership and noted that he &ldquo;kept the Senate open&rdquo; when faced with the same <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/COVID-19\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>COVID-19<\/a> concerns when he was majority leader.<\/p>\n<p>Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who was House minority leader in December 2023, blasted the overwhelming number of Congress members who were absent from the Hill the day of the omnibus vote, saying their work-from-home vote on the massive spending package would &ldquo;forever stain this Congress.&rdquo; Other Republicans also raged about the lack of quorum, which they said required their colleagues to be physically present.<\/p>\n<p>Then-Rules Committee ranking member Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) observed that &ldquo;magically proxy voting doubles on Fridays.&rdquo; Former Wisconsin Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher said that &ldquo;the over, overwhelming majority of members proxy voting are lying&rdquo; on their proxy voting forms.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Less than halfway through 2022, former Rep. Kai Kahele, a Democrat who represented Hawaii, was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hawaiipublicradio.org\/local-news\/2022-04-21\/kahele-has-used-proxy-votes-on-all-but-five-of-this-years-125-roll-calls\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>found<\/a> by Hawaii Public Radio to have voted by proxy on all but five of 125 votes that had been cast in the House.<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit is still playing out in the appellate court, and the Texas attorney general&rsquo;s office is expected to submit its arguments to the court by mid-September.<\/p>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1679024\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1679024\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) defended the House&#8217;s proxy voting system in a lawsuit on Friday, despite his strong opposition to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) implementing it in 2020. He contended that the courts should refrain from interfering with how Congress conducts its voting. This stance was presented in an amicus brief prepared by former Attorney General Bill Barr and other legal experts, cautioning that a Texas federal court&#8217;s ruling declaring some legislation passed via proxy votes as unenforceable was inappropriate. The case is currently under review by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. McConnell criticized the court for taking on a role that he believes was never intended for judicial interpretation by the Framers of the Constitution.<\/p>\n<p>Pelosi introduced proxy voting in May 2020 due to COVID-19, allowing House members to vote remotely rather than being physically present at Capitol Hill. She extended this option until her term ended in December 2023, during which time lawmakers from both parties were reported to be misusing this privilege, with studies indicating Democrats utilized it more frequently. Proxy voting became contentious as many representatives opted out of attending votes in person while citing &#8220;ongoing health emergencies&#8221; on required forms.<\/p>\n<p>The issue gained significant attention just before the holidays in 2022 when over half of House members voted remotely on a $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill. In response, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security, claiming they could not access funds from legislation passed without a quorum present during voting.<\/p>\n<p>McConnell supported DOJ and DHS&#8217;s position and argued that the lower court\u2019s decision jeopardizes Congress\u2019s ability to function effectively day-to-day. He stated that enforcing strict physical presence requirements would eliminate necessary flexibility during national emergencies and could invalidate established Senate procedures like unanimous consent and voice votes.<\/p>\n<p>While McConnell disagreed with how Pelosi managed proxy voting, he noted he kept the Senate operational amid similar COVID-19 challenges when he served as majority leader. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy criticized many Congress members who were absent during key votes, asserting their remote participation would tarnish this Congress&#8217;s legacy.<\/p>\n<p>Other Republicans expressed frustration over quorum issues requiring physical attendance; Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) remarked on an increase in proxy votes occurring specifically on Fridays while former Rep. Mike Gallagher claimed most members using proxy votes were dishonest about their reasons for doing so.<\/p>\n<p>In less than half of 2022 alone, former Democratic Rep. Kai Kahele from Hawaii was found to have voted by proxy nearly all but five times out of 125 total votes cast in the House according to Hawaii Public Radio reports.<\/p>\n<p>The legal proceedings are ongoing at appellate court level with Texas attorney general\u2019s office expected to submit further arguments by mid-September<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":2326209,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/AP24129748905122.jpg.optimal.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[32304,4585,34365,38422],"class_list":["post-2326208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-house-of-representatives","tag-lawsuit","tag-mitch-mcconnell","tag-proxy-voting"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/AP24129748905122.jpg.optimal.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2326208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2326208"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2326208\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2326209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2326208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2326208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2326208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}