This Thursday, the new Speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, confirmed that the proxy votes are no longer in effect. Thus, congressmen will no longer be able to ask third parties to vote for them, and will have to come to the Capitol for the sessions.
"No more proxy voting. Effective immediately, members of Congress have to show up to work if they want their vote to count," McCarthy posted on his Twitter account, fulfilling one of his campaign promises.
No more proxy voting. Effective immediately, Members of Congress have to show up to work if they want their vote to count.
— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) January 19, 2023
After the onset of the covid-19 pandemic, Nancy Pelosi, then Speaker of the House, authorized proxy voting to avoid a backlog of legislators on the floor and, therefore, decrease the risk of contagion. After almost three years, and with a much more controlled health situation, the measure was still in force.
For this reason, during his campaign to become speaker, McCarthy promised that, if elected, he would abolish this modality. In May 2020, Republican congressmen had already filed a lawsuit expressing their concerns about proxy voting, deeming it unconstitutional. However, they were unsuccessful in their claim.
The repeal of this modality is not the first change implemented by the Republican leader since his inauguration. During his first days in office, he approved the possibility for any legislator to propose a motion to vacate the presidency of the House of Representatives. In addition, he reinstated the Holman rule and other measures to control both spending and tax increases.
