Republican members of the House of Representatives filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), challenging her recent change to procedural rules allowing for a system of proxy voting due to the coronavirus, as reported by Fox News.
Pelosi announced the change last week, upending centuries of historical precedent in the House of Representatives by allowing members to vote on behalf of another member if they are not present. Almost 60 Democrats have already chosen this option since the rule change was announced.
The lawsuit argues that the rule change is unconstitutional, since the Constitution requires a quorum of a majority of lawmakers to be present in order for any votes to be cast. The change also gives far too much power to a small handful of members, who now can essentially vote multiple times.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) called the rule change “a dereliction of our duty as elected officials,” while Pelosi fired back by calling the lawsuit “a sad stunt,” and falsely claimed that the proxy voting rule change would “save lives.”