Republican trip to the border highlights how proxy voting has changed Congress

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Republican trip to the border highlights how proxy voting has changed Congress
https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/01/politics/proxy-voting-congress-border-trip/index.html?utm_source=twCNNp&utm_content=2021-07-02T08%3A42%3A04&utm_term=link&utm_medium=social



By Annie Grayer, Kristin Wilson and Sarah Fortinsky, CNN

Updated 5:18 AM ET, Thu July 1, 2021


(CNN)Rep. Madison Cawthorn once opposed the special Covid-era rule that lets House members vote even when they're away from the House, calling it for "cowards," but on Wednesday the North Carolina Republican made flagrant and unabashed use of it -- by traveling to the border wall for a political event with former President Donald Trump.


He wasn't alone in doing so. Eight other House Republicans also managed to appear alongside Trump at the border while simultaneously casting critical votes back in Washington. All they had to do was sign a letter to the House clerk saying they were "unable to physically attend proceedings in the House Chamber due to the ongoing public health emergency."


It's the latest example of lawmakers using a tool meant to ease health concerns for expressly political means in what appears to be a clear violation of the rule. However, there's little desire from either side of the aisle to punish members for violations: Democrats see proxy voting as a way to ensure they keep their slim majority regardless of whether all their members are on Capitol Hill, and Republicans have started to use it more, despite their objections.

Democrats have made even more liberal use of the tool, which started off in 2020 as a way to protect members from the pandemic but now enables lawmakers to enjoy the benefits of working remotely -- much like other white-collar American workers.

In May, seven House Democrats joined President Joe Biden when he went to Michigan. Just Tuesday, Democratic Rep. Ron Kind voted proxy the same day he greeted Biden in Wisconsin, having taken the time away to "discuss directly with the President ways we can increase vaccination rates in Wisconsin," he said in a statement.

But Republicans are the ones who, as a group, loudly criticized proxy voting, even filing a lawsuit to challenge its constitutionality. Forty of those original Republican plaintiffs have used proxy voting at least once, according to a comprehensive analysis conducted by CNN. .......................................................