Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) late Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit from House Republicans seeking to block the chamber from holding proxy voting, in which members vote for colleagues remotely on the House floor.
Pelosi issued a statement calling the lawsuit a “sad stunt” aimed at distracting from new efforts for an additional relief bill amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“The House made its will clear two weeks ago when it voted to implement remote voting by proxy and other necessary measures to ensure that Congress can continue to protect lives and livelihoods,” Pelosi said in a statement.
“The House’s position that remote voting by proxy during a pandemic is fully consistent with the Constitution is supported by expert legal analyses. Further, the Supreme Court made clear over a century ago that the Constitution empowers each chamber of Congress to set its own procedural rules,” she added.