In case you missed it, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is blasting dozens of House Democrats for shirking their Congressional duties.
Now that many states are beginning to reopen, some House Democrats don’t want Congress to do the same. Instead of making the trek to Washington, they’ve decided to rely on proxy-voting.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy(R-CA) was just not having it. On Wednesday, he used his time to express his displeasure.
Minority Leader McCarthy EXPLODES from House floor over the Democrats' plan for unconstitutional proxy voting.
This is a MUST-WATCH: pic.twitter.com/h0irMlSW6f
— Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) May 27, 2020
And he (rightly) hasn’t let it go yet.
Nearly a third of House Democrats didn't show up for work this week. But they'll still get a paycheck.
A couple even lied so they could travel across Florida for a rocket launch.
This should outrage everyone—including the 50 million Americans who were without representation. pic.twitter.com/h2kSjeNC9G
— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) May 28, 2020
This is the sentiment that the House Minority Leader was discussing:
Nancy Pelosi on the coronavirus: “this is an opportunity, every crisis is”https://t.co/SEKTlwmhWQ pic.twitter.com/rs6HAlh877
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) May 27, 2020
Some Democrats used it as an opportunity all right–an opportunity to not go to work.
When the House reconvened two weeks ago, around a dozen House Dems couldn’t make it back, but now that number has ballooned. More than 70 House Democrats were suddenly unable to travel and wanted their votes counted by proxy. Two Florida Democrats, Rep. Charlie Crist of Florida’s 13th district and Rep. Darren Soto of Florida’s 9th district, managed to stay healthy enough to make it to the planned Space X launch at Cape Canaveral.
More than 70 House Democrats voted by proxy Wednesday for the first time in the chamber’s 231 year history after sweeping rule changes granted Speaker Nancy Pelosi unprecedented powers and allowed members to vote from home.
Citing health concerns over the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, two House members that voted by proxy Wednesday skipped out on their constitutional duties in Washington to attend the historic space launch in Florida, which was ultimately postponed until Saturday due to inclement weather.
Source: The Fedearalist
The pair clearly didn’t think that anything would happen to them because they posted that they were at Cape Canaveral on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/RepCharlieCrist/status/1265726902796419073?s=20
Wishing @AstroBehnken and @Astro_Doug the best of luck as they lead us into a new era of space flight. Honored to be at @NASAKennedy today to experience this milestone! pic.twitter.com/CVxJ7KK6on
— Rep. Darren Soto (@RepDarrenSoto) May 27, 2020
House Republicans are taking it seriously, however, and have launched a lawsuit against Speaker Pelosi for allowing members to shirk their duties to their constituents.
At a time when Americans are going back to work, why should Congress not be in session?
House Republicans are planning to file a lawsuit against Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a bid to block a new proxy voting system, which will allow lawmakers to cast their first remote votes on the floor this week amid the global pandemic.
Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), along with 20 other GOP lawmakers, will file a lawsuit Tuesday challenging the voting method, calling it unconstitutional. Four constituents are also signing on to the lawsuit, claiming their representation in Congress is at risk of being diluted.
Source: POLITICO
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise had some thoughts on proxy voting as well. He called it a “scheme to play hooky.”
Yesterday 2 Dems got caught using Pelosi's proxy voting scheme to play hooky.
They claimed they couldn't show up to work "due to the ongoing public health emergency"—but then went to attend the rocket launch.
This isn't Ferris Bueller's Day Off. It's the United States Congress. pic.twitter.com/C2NuRDIcKw
— Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) May 28, 2020
The list of Republican House members filing the lawsuit are:
- House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy
- Rep. Chip Roy
- House Minority Whip Steve Scalise
- Rep. Liz Cheney
- Rep. Jim Jordan
- Rep. Mike Johnson
- Rep. Tom Cole
- Rep. Andy Biggs
- Rep. Russ Fulcher
- Rep. Warren Davidson
- Rep. Michael Cloud
- Rep. Mark Green
- Rep. Jody Hice
- Rep. Debbie Lesko
- Rep. Andy Harris
- Rep. Jeffrey Duncan
- Rep. Ron Wright
- Rep. Scott Perry
- Rep. Bradley Byrne
- Rep. Glen Clay Higgins
Good luck, Ladies and Gents! We need you to continue fighting for us before we’re run by Pelosi and a handful of her henchmen.
