Pelosi Slams “Republicans’ Sad Stunt” of Opposing Proxy Voting in Congress

Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 02:50 pm

Nancy Pelosi has hit out at Republicans for opposing proxy voting in Congress amid the Coronavirus pandemic. The Speaker of the House branded their lawsuit a “sad stunt”.

House Democrats passed measures to allow members of Congress to vote by proxy due to the dangers of Covid-19. Republicans are now suing to prevent this rules change.

I just filed a lawsuit in federal court to overturn Speaker Pelosi’s unconstitutional proxy voting scheme,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said on Tuesday.

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“It could allow as few as 20 Representatives to control the votes of 220,” he said.

“This is NOT the representative democracy our Founders envisioned or what our Constitution allows.”

Speaker Pelosi dismissed McCarthy’s complaints as obstruction in a statement yesterday.

“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,” Pelosi said.

The California Democrat argued that proxy voting was constitutional.

“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,” she said.

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Darragh Roche

Darragh Roche is a journalist covering U.S. politics and media