House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, 20 House Republican lawmakers, and four congressional constituents filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s proxy voting scheme.
“This week, House Democrats will break over 230 years of precedent and allow Members of Congress to vote by proxy on the House floor,” McCarthy said in a statement. “This is not simply arcane parliamentary procedure. It is a brazen violation of the Constitution, a dereliction of our duty as elected officials, and would silence the American people’s voice during a crisis… That is why, along with other members of the House and our constituents, I have filed a lawsuit in federal court to overturn Speaker Pelosi’s unconstitutional power grab…
“[B]y changing the rules in a way that violates the Constitution itself, Democrats are creating a precedent for further injustice,” McCarthy continued. “If their changes are acceptable, what stops the majority from creating a ‘House Rule’ that stipulates the minority party’s votes only count for half of the majority party’s? This is not the representative democracy our Founders envisioned or what our Constitution allows. It is tyranny of the majority.
“The Speaker’s reckless and partisan decision to adopt proxy voting was done despite unified opposition from the minority and even members of her own party. This is a serious matter that will damage the integrity of the House’s actions now and in the future,” he concluded.