As Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has ended proxy voting. The practice of voting by proxy was initially used out of fear over the spread of COVID-19. McCarthy had mentioned that he planned to end the price before he was awarded the gavel.
Put an end to voting via proxy, McCarthy tweeted on Thursday morning, no more voting via proxy. McCarthy stated that starting today, if you want your vote to count, you have to show up to work.
A thin majority might make terminating proxy voting problematic, but McCarthy’s proclamation fulfills his vow to end the practice, begun by his predecessor, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). If only a few Republicans are absent due to illness or other circumstances, the Democrats might win a vote by a razor-thin margin.
Most Republicans were relieved to see the practice cease, despite worries about the frailty of the Republican majority (especially in light of Congressman Greg Steube (R-FL) being hospitalized after a fall).
This puts an end to the practice of proxy voting in the House of Representatives. Your representatives should show up and do their jobs now just like you do, said Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA).
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) stated that today, the Republican House members voted to end proxy voting once and for all. House of Representatives is not a tech startup, and its representatives should be physically present in the House of Representatives to do their jobs.
There has been a vote to eliminate proxy voting in the House. According to Republican Kentucky lawmaker Thomas Massie, it was rarely used for its claimed goal of dealing with COVID. However, many members took advantage of this by skipping work-related travel to attend political events, vacations, and fund-raisers. Massie stated that he was one of the few who had never used a proxy vote.
David Rouzer (R-NC) stated that it was official: House Republicans voted to end the use of proxies in legislative proceedings. Rouzer stated that he had never used a proxy before and voted with great pride to eliminate the practice. Rouzer added that members of Congress should attend work daily, adding that if the American people attend work on a daily basis, so should Congress.
Arizona’s PBS affiliate Cronkite News reported in May 2022 that while some Republicans did occasionally employ proxy voting, Democrats were far more likely to resort to the strategy.
That investigation indicated that more than 150 Republicans and more than 240 Democrats used proxy voting at least once. In contrast, the top 10 proxy voters were all Democrats, with Florida Representative Al Lawson topping the list with 717 proxy votes. Since the practice was first implemented until the report’s release, 10% of all votes have been cast by proxy.