Christal Hayes, USA TODAY
Published 6:28 p.m. ET May 26, 2020 | Updated 8:19 p.m. ET May 26, 2020
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House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy charged congressional Democrats of committing a power grab by adopting “proxy program” during the coronavirus pandemic. (May 19)
AP Domestic
WASHINGTON – A group of Republican lawmakers have filed a lawsuit against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over the chamber’s new proxy voting system, a challenge to the rule that is set to be used for the first time on Wednesday.
The House developed and passed its new — and historic — proxy voting rules earlier this month, allowing members unable to come to Capitol Hill due to the coronavirus pandemic to designate another lawmaker as their “proxy” and cast floor votes on their behalf.
The goal was to allow lawmakers to have a voice if they could not travel to Washington safely due to the pandemic. It came after the House passed a number of coronavirus packages that amounted to about $3 trillion, bills where most lawmakers did not have much of a say in negotiations.
While the unprecedented rule change passed the chamber, no Republicans voted in favor of the measure with some calling into question the Constitutionality of the change.
The lawsuit, led by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, outlines this argument and details that under the Constitution, a majority of lawmakers must be present in order to take up business and vote on legislation.
“It is a brazen violation of the Constitution, a dereliction of our duty as elected officials, and would silence the American people’s voice during a crisis,” McCarthy, R-Calif., said in a statement officially announcing the lawsuit. “Although I wish this matter could have been solved on a bipartisan basis, the stakes are too high to let this injustice go unaddressed.”
McCarthy continued, arguing that while the Constitution allows for the House to dictate its own rules, it does not give authority to override the Constitution. “Rapid and robust legal relief is necessary,” he says, though Republican aides note that a court is not likely to interject before the House votes this week using the proxy system.
Twenty House Republicans have signed on to the lawsuit, including members of House leadership, such as Republican Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., and GOP Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney, R-Wy. Four members of the public, each from different states, have also signed on.
The lawsuit targets Pelosi, along with the House clerk and sergeant-at-arms, and was filed in the D.C. federal district court Tuesday evening, McCarthy’s office said.
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House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy says Congress should be in Washington and voting in person despite the virus. He has asked Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to work to Republicans on any changes to House voting rules. (April 22)
AP Domestic
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Any measure passed under this system, especially those that pass by slim margins where proxies cast deciding votes, could be called into question and lead to a domino effect for years to come, according to GOP leadership aides.
The lawsuit argues that changes to how the House votes were not enacted during times of war or previous pandemics, such as the Spanish Flu, where an estimated 50 million died worldwide. The same can be said after the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
Pelosi, in a statement, called the lawsuit a “sad stunt” that will not block the House from moving forward.
“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,” she said. “The House’s position that remote voting by proxy during a pandemic is fully consistent with the Constitution is supported by expert legal analyses.”
Democrats said the change enables the chamber to respond nimbly to evolving issues, including the unfolding pandemic, without putting lawmakers, their staffs and hundreds of Capitol Hill workers at risk by requiring them to meet together.
More than 50 House Democrats have already designated a proxy ahead of Wednesday, where the House is scheduled to take up several measures, including an amendment to the contentious Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. No Republicans thus far have filed any notice that they intend to use a proxy and House Republican leadership, along with the attorneys filing the lawsuit, have advised Republicans not to use the new system.
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