A Democratic congressman who has barely showed up to Capitol Hill is reportedly going to take off for bluer skies by joining the Hawaii gubernatorial race.
Freshman Rep. Kaiali’i Kahele will launch a bid for the Hawaii governorship, Punchbowl News reported. Kahele only voted in person five times in January and voted by proxy the remainder of the time. He also reportedly continued to moonlight at his previous job as a commercial pilot for Hawaiian Airlines. He was spotted in Washington, D.C., for the first time since the beginning of the year Thursday.
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DEMOCRATS HAVE GONE AWOL ON THEIR CONSTITUENTS
According to Punchbowl News’s John Bresnahan, Kahele “is leaving Congress to run for governor, per multiple sources. He’s told senior Democrats of his plans.”
https://twitter.com/bresreports/status/1519767354598694913?s=21&t=yQDHBhlHejCB5JVzNrA5FAKahele said in January that he was reassessing his political future following “a lot of calls” for him to run for governor back home.
“I think listening to the people is the most important thing I can do right now, and I’m committed to serving my second year in Congress and doing the best job I can, and, you know, I’ll reassess what my political future looks,” he said.
Kahele’s office did not comment on if his piloting job was contributing to his absence from Washington, only stating earlier this month that the congressman “is fully in compliance with Ethics” and pilots “occasional flights to maintain his certification.”
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Proxy voting and remote participation in committee activity is a contentious issue between the parties. Adopted during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to allow the House to continue its business, proxy voting allows members to vote on behalf of absent colleagues who are unable to appear in person. Some Republicans contend that the practice is unconstitutional.
