The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a lawsuit brought by Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy that sought to end proxy voting rules established by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The justices’ decision not to hear the case allows a federal appeals court ruling to stand, which said courts are blocked from reviewing internal rules of the House of Representatives.
Republicans led by McCarthy argued the Constitution does not allow proxy votes, a point he made citing the quorum clause that states lawmakers “shall not be questioned in any other place” for any speech or debate. The clause also says a group smaller than a quorum in some cases may “compel” the attendance of “absent members.” McCarthy said the significance of those lines makes a case for the House not to break tradition.
But Pelosi, a California Democrat, argued the Constitution provides the House a wide scope to set its rules, to which a federal district court ruled in August 2020 the speech or debate clause bars courts’ involvement in House voting rules.
BREAKING Supreme Court has denied GOP leader Kevin McCarthy’s lawsuit seeking to invalidate proxy voting for the House, a system adopted during the pandemic. pic.twitter.com/4xKAu4tVtQ
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) January 24, 2022
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Lawmakers first began proxy voting in May 2020 following a change to the rules. The alteration was meant to create a balance between working from home during the COVID-19 outbreak and honoring the Constitution’s requirement to be “present” and voting.
Republicans almost completely rejected the concept of proxy voting at the start of the new voting rules in May 2020. However, new data suggest roughly 80% of all House members used the option through mid-December 2021, according to the Brookings Institution.
