Over a dozen female leaders representing prominent conservative organizations signed a letter urging House Republicans to reject an effort to allow proxy voting by lawmakers with newborns.
The push to bring back proxy voting, though limited to new parents, is spearheaded by a Florida Republican and backed by the entire Democratic caucus.
Proponents tout it as a pro-family enhancement of House rules, which have always required in-person voting except during a brief time during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Eagle Forum organized the letter to Republicans, citing constitutional concerns and the dangers inherent in the practice. Fifteen female conservative leaders signed the letter.
It called on the House to reject the discharge petition led by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, Florida Republican, that would force a vote on the proxy voting resolution. The resolution would allow lawmakers to cast votes remotely for 12 weeks following the birth of a child by a member of Congress or a member’s spouse.
The letter reads, in part: “As women, we understand the challenges of pregnancy and delivery for new mothers. However, we believe proxy voting is unconstitutional and dangerous to the integrity of the Congressional process.”
They note that proxy voting on the House floor was only pushed through by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, during the COVID-19 pandemic and repealed once Republicans regained the majority in January 2023.
In Texas v. Garland, a case challenging the passage of the two laws with proxy voting during COVID, the 5th Circuit held that proxy voting violates the Quorum Clause of the Constitution.
In the letter, the conservative women wrote that representing “one’s constituents is an honor and privilege that requires commitment and sacrifice” and that allowing one “subset” of members to vote by proxy while preventing others from accessing it is “unfair and unconstitutional” and will likely lead to subsequent reasons that members will use to demand for proxy voting.
“Once allowed for new parents, how will Congress justify limiting the practice? Is it fair to tell a cancer patient, or the spouse or parent of a cancer patient, that he or she cannot vote by proxy while the spouse of a new mom is permitted to do so for three months? Once this Pandora’s box is opened, limiting proxy voting will likely be impossible.”
“We fear this will lead to the erosion of in-person collaboration that is so important, and quite frankly, already in short supply in Washington,” they wrote.
The signatories of the letter come from organizations including Concerned Women for America, Tea Party Patriots Action, Conservative Partnership Institute, Act For America, Be the People Project, Americans for Limited Government, Independent Women’s Voice, CURE, Citizens Council for Health Freedom, State Freedom Caucus Network and Center for Military Readiness. The women were speaking out individually and not on behalf of their organizations.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has opposed the proxy voting resolution. On Friday, he said he remains opposed to reinstituting any form of proxy voting, contradicting Ms. Luna’s claim that he agreed to a scaled-back version of her proposal that would only allow proxy voting for new mothers.
“Democrats tried proxy voting before, and it was terribly abused. We cannot open that Pandora’s box again,” Mr. Johnson, Louisiana Republican, said on social media.
