Top House Republicans reject Democrats’ call for proxy voting

House Republicans on Wednesday rejected a proposal from Democrats to permit a form of remote voting and virtual committee work during the coronavirus pandemic.

Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), the ranking member of the House Administration Committee, as well as Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and House Rules Committee ranking member Tom Cole (R-Okla.), both members of the bipartisan task force to reopen Congress, accused Democrats of trying to “abandon ship” with the plan. 

“Across our nation, Americans of all stripes are making sacrifices and doing their part to defeat this virus – and they expect Washington to do the same,” the Republicans wrote in a joint statement. “Unfortunately, far from being ‘captains of this ship’ as Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi [D-Calif.] recently proclaimed, the Democrats’ proposal calls for the House of Representatives to abandon ship – potentially for the remainder of the session.” 

The Republicans added that any change to House rules should be done in a bipartisan manner and suggested that the Democrats’ proposal would diminish the GOP’s power in the chamber. 

“It facilitates only legislative theater while enabling the most significant power grab in the history of Congress, leaving our constituents’ voices shut out of the real lawmaking process,” they said. “And it disregards rights of the minority at all levels, a failure of leadership that will have lasting consequences for our institution beyond the current pandemic.”

The statement came in response to a proposal from Pelosi and House Democrats that would allow proxy voting, in which absent lawmakers could permit colleagues in the House chamber to cast floor votes on their behalf, and allow committees to conduct hearings, depositions and markups of legislation away from Washington.

Democrats have said such measure are necessary to allow lawmakers to follow social distancing guidelines recommended by public health officials during the pandemic.

“We will now move forward on these temporary emergency procedures to ensure the House can continue fully working for the people during this public health and economic emergency. The time has come to act – further delay is not an option,” Democrat leaders said in a statement.

However, Republicans have accused Democrats of shirking their duties, pointing to a GOP plan that would allow the House to resume its business in person and includes protections like installing plexiglass dividers at high-traffic areas and limiting the number of floor votes each week.

“Republicans have put forward a detailed plan to ensure the People’s House can perform its vital functions during this time in a safe and effective manner. We call on Democrats to do the same and drop this ill-conceived member management exercise masquerading as reform,” the Republicans said Wednesday.