House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., on Thursday officially ended the practice of proxy voting, the pandemic-era procedure that allowed members to vote from home.
"No more proxy voting," McCarthy said. "Effective immediately, Members of Congress have to show up to work if they want their vote to count."
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., established proxy voting in May 2020 amid the pandemic. Instead of showing up to vote, members of Congress could submit a letter to have a colleague announce their position on bills and amendments and even cast votes in their name.
Pelosi extended proxy voting several times, citing the ongoing public health emergency.
Republicans for months have spoken out against the practice, arguing it enabled abuse and allowed lawmakers to neglect their responsibilities.
But Fox News notes that legislators in both parties used proxy voting while attending campaign events and other functions unrelated to health concerns with voting in person.
One Republican leadership aide told Axios that attendance in the House "will be critical with a 4-seat majority," adding it will be especially tough for Democrats to "get in the consistent habit of showing up in person after many of them proxy voted the majority of time over the last two years."
The aide said Republicans "will stick to a strict floor schedule and not leave vote times open for hours like Democrats did, which will require timely attendance."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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